In addition to what Gerald said, it appears that your tool is very dull which leads to applying a lot of pressure to force the tool to cut which leads to a lot of tear out. You can't fix a poor surface with with any kind of varnish, shellac, or lacquer. A glossy finish will rat you out without mercy and highlight even the slightest surface imperfection. So the surface needs to be absolutely perfect before the finish is applied.
When sanding start with a grit that is coarse enough to remove any imperfections that your gouges and scrapers can't fix. After that, sanding with finer grits will only remove sanding scratches left by the previous grit. For a high gloss finish I typically sand to 400 grit and sometimes 600 or higher. For the best results, don't skip grits.
With a sharp tool and a light touch the grain direction in figured maple shouldn't present a problem unless the wood is punky.