: .... should I try and do a bead and cove on the walnut or is the stuff
: too hard and brittle? My second question is, how wide should I cut the
: strips ...

When adjoining strips are of a very different color, it is best not to bead & cove the join because the fairing process may cause the line to be a little wavy where sanded to different depths.

I generally prefer bead and cove to align strips and minimize joint and light see-through, but cut off the bead and coves when colors change.

John