Finishing my workbench frame and top?

[Tony Shea]

I am in the proccess of building a woodworking bench, my first one. It's a basic one with 2x4 stretchers and 4x4 fir legs with a threaded rod tensioning system. I am going to laminate 4 peices of MDF for the top and wrap it with some maple or oak trim dovetailed on the corners. I've really been working this out by hand and am excited for this part.

The part that has me perplexed is the finish I should use for both the frame and bench top. I think I want to use BLO on the MDF and top it off with some Johnson's Paste Wax. I have never used either products and really don't know how difficult or what this proccess entails. Any info would be great. Other methods are welcome as well.

The frame is where I'm confused. Should I use an oil of some sort or just go the quick and easy way and use a polyurethane? I am not just throwing it together and not caring what it looks like. Really taking my time with it as I want it to be funcitonal as well as look good in it's space.

[Mac McQuinn]

I built a Torsion box style Re-loading bench back in the early summer and used MDO for the sandwich top and support coverings. I finished these with Tried & True Polymerized Linseed Oil & Beeswax. It takes a long time to dry(smell is great) but i like it, makes the top look like oiled leather. I'm going to paint the 2X supporting parts with Industrial gray(my favorite color) oil based enamel, hopefully next week.

Mac

[Mike Cruz]

Personally, I went with poly. Some here have mentioned that putting a finish such as poly makes it too slippery to work on. Right now, I have 6 coats on my miter saw extension table (MDF with maple trim). I wanted it to allow the wood to glide easily. My 4 X 4 work bench has 3 coats right now (maple ply with maple trim). I plan to put one more coat on it and then finish it off with a fine grit sanding so that it loses the slipperiness. I don't care about the tops looking great in years to come. I just want them to be as protected as possible and poly is about (if not) as durable as you can get.

One more note: Make SURE you coat the underside of the overhang around the edges. When doing glue ups, that is a convenient and favorite spot to wipe your fingers. Coat that well so the glue doesn't build up permanently.

[Tony Shea]

I built a Torsion box style Re-loading bench


Interesting. That is my first love as far as hobbies go. I've been an avid reloader/shooter for over ten years now. Absolutely love working up accurate loads for all my guns, especially my new Sako Varmint 22-250 as of late.



Make SURE you coat the underside of the overhang around the edges.


Great point.

More input would be greatly appreciated.

[glenn bradley]

At the recommendation of our esteemed Jim Becker, I used BLO. After it was dry I used paste wax. I have refreshed the paste wax about once a year and glue doesn't stick and the MDF has held up remarkably well. I had contemplated putting a replaceable hardboard skin on the top during construction. Glad I didn't bother.

[Tony Shea]

At the recommendation of our esteemed Jim Becker, I used BLO


How was BLO to apply? How long does it take to dry and how many coats are you looking at on top? I hear that the stuff takes forever to dry, is this truth? Anything you can tell me about your proccess of finishing the top would be very helpful. As I said I have never worked with these two combonations. I have only seen pictures of the results on this forum and am very pleased with the looks of it.

[dan sherman]

How long does it take to dry and how many coats are you looking at on top? I hear that the stuff takes forever to dry, is this truth?

Strait non-boiled linseed oil takes forever to dry, BLO is much faster. After you get the final coat on, let it set for 5-7 days and you "should" be good to go.

Personally I would do 2 coats of BLO cut with 50% MS. The process for applying it is pretty simple, wipe it on with a paper towel. Once you get the surface wet, go back and wipe on more in any spot that looks dry. Continue touching up dry spots for 10 minutes or so, then take a 15 minute break. After your break, wipe off any excess.

Paste wax is even easier to apply, wipe one a thin layer with a paper towel and let it dry. Drying times depends on the atmospheric conditions, but 20-30 minutes should be plenty. Buff out with a clean paper towel or rag.

[glenn bradley]

How was BLO to apply? How long does it take to dry and how many coats are you looking at on top? I hear that the stuff takes forever to dry, is this truth?

I used red oak sanded to 220 and flooded it with straight BLO till it wouldn't soak in any more. This was a method I had read about back when I first started playing around. The piece 'weeped' and had to be repeatedly wiped down for over two weeks.

For my MDF top, I mixed straight BLO and mineral spirits 50/50. Mixed it well and applied it with a small paint roller. I coated the entire top and frame. Had a freind help me flip the top and coated the entire bottom the same way. Turned it back over and did the top again.

It was dry in under two days. Probably sooner but I was still aware of my experience years before and wanted to make sure. I paste waxed it, let it just get foggy and buffed it off. Did that again. I just found some spilled glue this morning from some work last night . . . pick it with my fingernail and it popped right off.

If I ever need to touch up the top, I rub the area I am after with some mineral spirits on a rag to cut the wax, apply the BLO/MS mix and re-wax the next day. I am sure there are many ways to finish a top but this has worked so well for me that I silently thank Jim frequently. If I get a light scratch, I just move down the bench, treat that area and rewax the spot the next day. If I get a deep gouge, I fill with epoxy, sand flat, BLO/MS it and wax.

[Tony Shea]

Thanks both for the much need info and personal experiences.

If I'm not mistaken I think I got the BLO/wax inspiration from you Glenn.