My very first hope chest, I built this for a customer and will be put on display at a party during the delivery 7/23/11. I optioned Knotty Alder and Mahogany for this build, finished it with Tung Oil and Brush on Lacquer, The knots I used epoxy to fill in also a first time doing this, seems I was on the right track. The whole process took close to two weeks to complete..