Today was the day I decided to go for a new and unusual stain....Minwax Antique Maple. Mahogany was too dark.

minwax.com/produse/stains/puwsgs3.htm

A couple of coats of this will do the job I am looking for.

NOW! The last final question of this WHOLE procedure...  Shellac, Spar Urethane, or Varnish? (as a final protective finish) I am looking for something that DOES NOT get sticky when I hold it or when wet.

Thank you all for the help.  Expect a posting of the finished product in 8-10 days

Out of those three I'd say shellac will give you the best results. Just do several coats and allow for lots of drying time.

I haven't had good results with any Minwax product, especially their gel stain.  I get poor penetration with it, it's just too thick.  What you see after the first application is what you get.  It might be better if it were thinned down with some linseed oil, but it's easier just to buy a better stain to begin with.   Plus it seems to be awful sticky after application.  Mine took about a week to dry to a point where I felt comfortable applying a finish.

Behr used to have a "Scandanavian Oil Stain" that was thin enough to penetrate well, and successive coats actually darkened the wood (what a concept!)  I don't know what they are selling these days though.  

For the topcoat: shellac is easy to work with and apply, but it isn't that rugged of a finish.  I recommend some oil/varnish mix.  Tung oil is what I use, and it has always worked very well for me.  It's a little more work but is easy to apply.   I would stay away from polyurethane just on principle.  It's hard to touch up and it always tends to be too glossy for my taste.

Any oil-varnish finish can be freshened up with a new application, and its gloss level can be controlled with a steel wool burnishing job.

If you like satin finished, Birchwood-Caseey Tru-Oil is awesome. Apply it by hand, allowing it time to penetrate/dry, and then buff it down with 0000 steel wool. (It will be very glossy before buffing!)
Looks Awesome, and good oil, too.
Pit

Quoted: If you like satin finished, Birchwood-Caseey Tru-Oil is awesome. Apply it by hand, allowing it time to penetrate/dry, and then buff it down with 0000 steel wool. (It will be very glossy before buffing!) Looks Awesome, and good oil, too. Pit

I actually used Tru-Oil on my SKS stock.  It worked well.   The only problem with Tru-Oil is that it's rather pricey for what you get, basically an oil-varnish mix.  

I used to think Birchwood-Casey "Tru-Oil" was a bit pricey as well until I tried a cheap $1.99 quart can of boiled linseed oil from Home Depot (I was told this was the SAME stuff) No comparison, The generic Linseed oil was gummy, uneven and took forever to set-up properly. I've finished about a dozen stocks now with the Tru-Oil and I couldn't be happier. Also, I tried the Min-Wax walnut stain on a light stock once and it made a real mess. It does not work well over or under oil finishes. I applied this to an old SKS stock that was oil-soaked (I thought I had dried it pretty well) Anyway after a week it still was not dry to the touch so I used liberal amounts of mineral spirits to wash the Min-Wax off. I let it dry for a another week and applied some Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil! It saved the day. I also like it better than Tung-Oil although that would be my second choice. IMHO the Tru-Oil is not expensive, its' a bargain!