I have sad honor of building a casket for my father (he is still alive).  It is made primarily of white oak, with the decorative peices being made of cherry, poplar, adler, whitewood and possibly others.

I have it nearing completion and have been shying away from the thought of stain / finish.  I am intimidated by it because it is the final step and I don’t want to mess it up at this stage.  I have been thinking about just leaving it unfinished, but my sisters have asked that it be finished.

I have a few questions.  (1) What light stain can I use that will (A) look good on all the listed woods, (B) won’t be a problem when it comes to any endgrain.  (2) If a stain won’t work in this situation, what clear finish would be easy to apply?
  I had concerns about the difficulty in appling either due to the fact that it was already constructed and some difficult corners and other areas.  I had wanted some of the parts to have a nice contrast to the rest of the wood, such as the supports and finials for the lifting rods.  I thought that the only easy, sure-fire way to do them like I wanted was to do it prior to construction.  Which is too late at this point.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.   Below is a picture without the lid so you get an idea what I am working with.

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