Workbench finishes

[thefischbowl]

I am getting ready to finish my workbench. the top is part of a bowling ally lane (maple, I think)and the legs and sides are Southern Yellow Pine. I am trying to figure out what type of finish to use to make the wood shine. Right now I have Watco Danish oil and the Generals butcher block mineral oil on the shelf, along with some Cabot poly. Ideally I would like the finish to bring out the character of the wood (the top still has the walnut arrows from the bowling lane in it)and bringing some sort of sealing/protection. At the same time I know the top is going to be abused, so I want a finish where it is easy to sand it down and reapply when needed. Finally, I am hoping to find a way to finish it so that when I still glue on the top and it dries, it is fairly easy to scrape it off. Would any of the products I have on my shelf accomplish this, or is the one that would work better? Also, what would be the pros and cons of finishing or not finishing the underside of the top?

Thanks for the help.

[harleydog]

According to Christopher Schwarz you will want a finish that will allow for grip on the top. In his book he talked about Danish oil at the best type of finish. I would stay away from the mineral oil, it could effect the finish of your work pieces.

[TimV]

You mean like this top? Don't mind the rusty vice. My top has the original poly or whatever was used on the lanes. I like the surface only because nothing sticks and it is very easy to clean but I don't like that the work slides around so easily. I have to clamp everything down. It no longer seeps oil onto my workpieces too from between the boards if left overnight on the surface. My plan is to scrape the surface and apply a oil varnish blend with more oil than varnish.

Tim

[sbarton22]

Tim-- I notice all of your pieces have a Brooklyn hook to them...now I know why.

(just a little bowling joke for ya)

[bois]

I just used BLO on my bench to seal the grain, and provide a reasonably grippy surface. I think any kind of film finish is probably a bad idea on a bench top since it's just going to get abused and will create more work when you go back to flatten the bench the next time. And trust me, the more time you worry about how nice the bench looks the more painful it will be a month down the road when you have chisel marks, dents, blood stains, and shavings all over it.