yes thats a nice piece of walnut burl you have their mister...if its 20 years old it was probably coated with nitro-cellulose, NOT a polymerized urethane coating. When it gets wet the coating will start to peel off so you wont have to worry about it long anyway ..
Have fun and enjoy yourself is #1...you can't go wrong if it didn't come with directions translated in 4 different languages