If you had to do it again?

[Josh Bowman]

I've just finished my Roubo bench. You guys have been great help. I've been using it alot when it occurred to me.....I haven’t put a finish on the wood.
If you build your bench again what kind of finish would you use and why?

[David Weaver]

I didn't build my bench. I like to keep my bench unfinished, though, because sometimes I do metalwork near it or lap planes on it, and when I'm done with something (like the plane I just finished), I like to run a vacuum-hooked-ROS over it to abrade all the scuzz off and suck it into the vacuum.

If I'm going to glue a bunch of stuff on it after that, I'll put a quick coat or two of paste wax on it.

Obviously, if you've ever tried to run a plane over a bench with cast iron dust embedded in the top surface, you get a bye for using abrasives, though a card scraper works OK if you have a couple to rotate when they get hot.

If and when I ever do build a nice bench, I'll do the same thing - I don't have enough room to segregate metal work from woodwork, though I do keep my bench grinder far away near the garage door - the metal's never been an issue for me, but when I used to have the bench grinder nearby, the grit from the grinder would somehow end up embedded in TS sleds and all kinds of stuff - bad news.

[Joe Cunningham]

None.

What's the point? When I do a glue-up I use a drop cloth draped over the bench. Same when I do any finish work.

Wax makes the surface slippery, which is not really what I want when I am planing something or using a hold-down to chop out a mortise.

Danish oil does pretty much nothing. Same with BLO.

Everything else that creates a film finish will just chip, flake and craze with use.

My opinion--it's a work bench, not a dining table.

[Mark Roderick]

I didn't finish my bench. Sometimes I wish I had just so I could clean it, but it's not a big deal either way.

[Mike Brady]

50/50 BLO and turpentine. This is kind of a classic finish for benches. I just used it on my new bench last weekend. It just not add to slickness of the wood and adds a little protection from dirt. I just do not like to see a bench without finish...it looks "unfinished" in every sense of the word.

[Brian Kincaid]

Spar urethane for me. I repurposed half a can that spilled on the floor while I was top-coating my children's table and chairs.

-Brian

[Don C Peterson]

I use a 50/50 mix of tung oil and mineral spirits on mine. Just wipe it on and wipe off the excess.

[David Keller NC]

If I had it to do again - I would continue to put no finish on the bench. There will be others to disagree, but a finish on a bench is just plain inappropriate if you intend to do mostly hand work.

Any finish, save perhaps a varnish that you sprinkle sand into ( a really bad idea, btw - just used to make the point!) will greatly facilitate wooden workpieces sliding around on the surface. That means that you've got to pretty much lock a board into a vise/clamp arrangement for any work on it, and that sucks.

One of the principle reasons to leave the bench unfinished is that it usually has enough grab so that you can do a lot of moderate operations on a board (trim a tenon, plane a face, etc...) without having to pinch it between two points.

BTW - this opinion is based on having built 5 benches to date. 2 of them had finishes put on them (the first was polyurethane), but that was before I knew better.

[Roger Benton]

i used 1 part each blo, varnish and mineral spirits, wiped on and off, 3 coats.
keep a small amount of the mixture that i didn't use in a jar on the shelf above my bench for touchups.
glue pops right off when dry, and i can just wipe up spilled finishes, water, coffee, epoxy, etc.
will do the same thing next time.

[Russell Sansom]

I've finished the front and ends with shellac for the prettiness, but the top is UN. Just as noted by several posters. For me, unfinished affords the best friction grip. It's also what I end up with every time I flatten, scrape, or smooth-plane it.
I never allow anything foreign on my bench top. I just hate finishing a project and finding a dent embossed in it by a stray wood chip or a dent in the workbench surface.