Protect soft maple - abrasion resistance

[Dale Murray]

I'm building the base for my workbench from soft maple - I used hard maple for the top, leg vise, etc - don't like how easily it gets marred up; I had no idea how soft it is until this project.

In all reality the base (shaker style bench) should receive very little abuse, however, I would still like to protect it as much as reasonably possible.

Most everything I make is from oak, hard maple, or walnut; this is the first time I've made a furniture piece from something this soft.

I plan on using this thing for the next 30 years, may as well do it right.

Any suggestions, aside from poly?

Prefer a satin sheen if possible.

[John TenEyck]

No finish is harder than the wood underneath, so no matter what you put on it it will get dinged up if you hit it with something. But really, it's a workbench, not a piece of furniture. They get used and abused, but still serve their function despite dings and dents. I have an assembly bench, the base of which is made of spruce/pine 2 x 4's. It hasn't gotten dinged up very much in over 25 years of serious use.

John

[Dale Murray]

I'm not expecting to case harden the thing, just make it a little more abrasion resistant. When I was fitting joints the legs god bruise because they were laying flat on on a few shavings from my hand plane.

[John TenEyck]

I've never had soft maple that soft. Sounds more like poplar or basswood.

John

[Dale Murray]

Honestly, I've used poplar thats much harder than this. If it did not have some weight to it I would think that same.

[John TenEyck]

Something sounds amiss, Dale. I've never seen soft maple like you described. Even silver maple has a Janke hardness of 700, about the same as some SYP, which is still pretty hard. White pine and basswood are around 400. Poplar must be around that value, too. Red maple and black cherry are about the same at 950. Sugar maple (hard) is 1450.

Are you sure what you have is maple? A little late for that, but..

John

[Dale Murray]

I bought it from Anderson Millworks in Michigan - on its third generation as a family business and my father has used them for 40 years - so I have to believe what I bought was soft maple. Also, they flattened and rough thickness for me, too - if it was not maple they would have caught it. I am sure.

Thinking about this I believe the issue is with one particular board; I bought a single piece of 8/4 at 16" wide and 8' long. I made all my legs from that single piece of wood and its the legs that are the easiest to dent.

This afternoon I ironed the suspect pieces and feel a bit better - I was able to remove about 99% of the dents.

[John TenEyck]

All the maple I've used smells like maple. Does that piece smell the same as the other boards? Cut some of the scrap to test. The lumber mill you bought it from may be top notch, but mistakes do happen. Rather a moot point now, I know, but I can't ever remember seeing soft maple get dented by a wood shaving.

To your original question, I think a coat of Sealcoat shellac or thinned varnish would help stiffen up the surface a little. Certainly wouldn't hurt.

John

[Dale Murray]

I'm back.
Tung Oil Finish (varnish) recommendations?

I tested a few finishes on scraps from the project and found Minwax Tung Oil Finish really enhanced the figure without bringing to much attention to itself.

I have no affinity toward this product, I just happened to have a bit around. What are some favored brands of Tung Oil Finish you folks use?

Thanks

[John Ziebron]

Dale, did you mean Armstrong Millworks in Highland Michigan? It's a reputable family business that I've bought wood from for many years. By coincidence, I'm building a workbench right now and used soft maple for the legs and stretchers but have hard maple for the top. This is my first experience with soft maple but it seems just as hard as red oak which I've mostly used for years.

I wonder if some wood didn't get mixed up in their bins. I assume they still let folks pick through it. Still, I would think whomever measured up your order would know the type of wood you chose. If you have any scrap left I would take a piece the next time you go back and ask them about it. They've always been very helpful and friendly.

I now live a little further north in Michigan and buy my wood from a sawyer in Elba who only gets stock from sustainable sources.

[Dale Murray]

Yes, Armstrong. Oops.
I, in no way, meant to imply Armstrong did something wrong. Those folks know more about wood than I ever could in the 30 or so years I have left on this earth.

Its not a mix up. It is soft maple, its just very soft maple; and the really soft stuff came from a single board - I bought about 60bf that day.