What's your favorite...

[Mike Jones NM]

wood/finish combo? Mine seems to change. Here lately I have been really partial to maple with a poly/BLO mix
Mike

[Jude Kingery]

Hey Mike, I like Mesquite with a semi-gloss or (for customers) high-gloss wipe-on polyurethane. Easy to use, looks nice with a little bit of buff on bowls. I use friction polish (Mylands) on smaller in diameter things, i.e. candle sticks and throw tops, puts on a nice sheen. Jude

[Jim Becker]

I'm a cherryoholic...with BLO and shellac. If I top coat, it's water borne from Target Coatings; either USL or the hybrid alkyd varnish I've been using on the vanities. Decorative items only get wax as a "top coat".

But I also enjoy air-dried walnut with shellac.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

The wood: Wood native to my area or failing that anything I don't have to stain. (I'll put up with staining oak to some extent).

The finish: A number of things depending on what I think is called for but nothing with gloss as a topcoat.