Hey, a question for you all:

I'm building a chest for my son and I'm going with poplar mostly and (probably) birch panel inlays. My question is, what should I use to finish the poplar? I was going to go with Tung Oil and Mineral Spirit (1:1), but have questioned whether I'd like to keep the lightness of the wood. I suppose I could go with a Shellac mix (3 parts clear with 1 part amber) followed by a poly. Any suggestions?

Why am I using poplar? Because I live in the south and apparently most of the lumbar yards don't even carry it. Lowe's and HD have it but too expensive. Lately, my favorite lumbar yard got in a crate and was selling it a $1 a foot......so long story short, I thought I'd give it a go since I don't see alot of it down here. Why the bir