I have recently started using shellac (made from female lac bug secretion) in the first step of my finish. It's an ancient finish that was used until the advent of cellulose lacquer in the 20th century. Basically, I use it as a thin wash that dries quickly (30min. - 1hr.) and seals the pores of the wood so that the first coat of oil that I use will dry more quickly. I mix commercial (bullseye) 30 lb. cut shellac half and half with denatured alcohol and rub it with 0000 steel wool after it dries to remove all that hasn't gone into the wood pores. Then it's 3 coats of oil (1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 tung oil, 1/3 urethane) rubbed in and wiped off. After that I rub in 2 coats of beeswax, tung oil and linseed oil. It used to take a week to finish a piece, now it takes 5 days.