Here is a picture of the columns after gluing. It almost looks like I know what I'm doing, My first plan was to glue the pieces and hammer them together using finishing nails. I soon found out that finishing nails have no chance of going through
1 1/2" of oak. The one nail I tried immediatly disintegrated. I could never get it out.

I ended up routing grooves on the inside edges of each of the column pieces. There was then a nice edge for each side to rest against during gluing. I routed the inside groove and outside radius before gluing.

Here are the pieces after sanding, prestain, Rosewood stain and satin finishing. If I could do it again, my one change would be two coats of stain. It's a little patchy in places, but you can't really tell when you take a step back.

Here are the finished stands with bases and tops attached. The screw holes I drilled actually matched up. The color is actually closer to the above picture.

Here are the stands installed in my studio. Ironically, the best woodworking project I've ever done is hidden behind the keyboard. But they do the job I wanted them to do, and I learned a lot about working with oak. My next project will not be so invisible: three giant 6' x 4' oak bookcases for our bedroom.