Bench Finish

[Renzo]

Hi.. I'm sure this has been discussed to death in the previous forum, but i wasn't around then

I bought a european style workbench from Lee Valley today. (they got a limited number at each brick and mortar store). It comes unfinished. It's made of solid Birch.

I'm thinking some sort of oil finish so that refinishing when the time comes will be a breeze (just sand and go, rather than completely strip).

Any suggestions? Right now i'm leaning towards Watco Danish Oil.

[jlloydparks]

I have two benches and I finished both with an oil varnish blend. The first with Watco Danish Oil and the second with Minwax Antique Oil. You can also make your own with 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil, 1/3 Varnish (poly), 1/3 Mineral Spirits or 1/3 Turpentine (depends on what you want to smell).

The Danish Oil you mentioned would work well. Don't coat it too thick, usually two coats are enough. If you get a heavy finish things will slide all over the place.

I also put some paste wax on it after the finish. Then reapply the wax every few months or so. This helps keep glue and other gunk from sticking to the bench.

Here is my Nicholson, it is two years old and is still awesome at 8' in length.

[Xaromir]

You also could put shellac on it. It costs quite some time,

but you also could use a brush even though it's not the right method.

Shellac makes a very thing finish and if you ever want to put a new layer down it's easy,

just rub on new shellac, the new layer will partially solve the old layer and they will become one.

It doesn't take long to cure, you put it on and it is immediately dry,

even though letting it sit over night would be a good idea to let it harden.

It doesn't protect much from force - like from a falling tool, but if you seal the pores it will protect from moisture,

but hopeless against certain chemicals paintstrippers and alcohol.

You can have a thinner finish which i would prefer, or a thicker one,

which would be a bit of a waste on a bench in my opinion.

Shellac is a great old school finish that really stood the test of time,

and this would be a good occasion to experiment with this.

[wilburpan]

I didn't put any type of finish on my bench. The surface of a benchtop is to hold work. Most finishes make the surface more slippery than it was before, which counteracts the intended purpose of the bench.

[muddlermike]

most guys around here just use some BLO, but I think you're on the right track with just the danish oil

[RenaissanceWW]

I have a bunch of Danish oil I had been thinking of using to coat my top, but I was in the middle of several projects when I finished the bench so I left it bare. It has been 8 months and still not finish. I don't think I will bother at this point because I like the grip I get from the top now. I will finish the base and vises and such for protection but may just leave the top as is.

[dryhter]

A video that talks about this very subject.

Is the bench a workbench or a shrine to woodworking.

I built my bench about two years ago and put several coats of poly on it, thinking at the time it would protect it from glue drips (mine is a workbench ) it didn't, because clue sticks. My bench is used daily and shows signs of wear and tear, scrapes and scratches, screw and nail holes, ooops, doggones and dangnabbets. But it sure was pretty when she was new.

[PaulMarcel]

My current bench is finished with an abstract application of Titebond II, Titebond II, and Titebond Extended. There is also some hide glue. There's some dyed areas made of black tea with cream and sugar. Seal-A-Cell and Arm-R-Coat greatly protect at least two different 1" wide strips. Parts not covered by this abstract art previously had paste wax that long gave up.

...but this is the sacrificial top of my assembly table as I don't have a coooooool Roubo bench yet. If I had one, I would certainly put a finish on it since it does seem to keep the top surface smooth and help stop splintering. In a moment of HazMat euphoria, I'd likely choose to douse the surface with CPES. The resulting surface would be waterproof so glue and crap wouldn't stick to it permanently but you wouldn't have it all slick like with wax, which sometimes kinda gets in the way while assembling.

I'll revisit when I build a Roubo

[oldwolf]

I used watco danish oil on both of mine and I'm very happy. Easy to recoat after a good flattening. I also built an english style bench but I modified the top to a thicker roubo style laminated top