But not waiting long enough between coats will cause the varnish to crinkle.

So back to basics.... Use a BRUSH! It applies a lot more varnish per coat than a rubbing with rag or whatever. Observing the recommended times, you should be able to build up an adequate coating in a week (5-7 coats). If not, you are either thinning the varnish too much, not putting enough on per coat (it's all in the wrist) or playing hooky from your varnishing duties.

Varnishing is supposed to be a big mystery, but ya gotta realize most everything we know about it was figured out a hundred years ago. It ain't hi-tech, but it really works. That's why it has survived.