Material for Top of tool stand for Rigid Spindle Sander

[George Bokros]

I am going to put my Rigid Spindle sander on a stand finally. I am debating what to use for the top. I have some nice 3/4" MDF that I am thinking of using.

My questions are:

Will water based poly work for sealing the top of the MDF or will it cause the surface to get fuzzy? What else could I use? I could go to 3/4 Baltic Birch but would rather save that for other uses. I could also buy a quarter sheet of white melamine.

I want to band the edges with either some scrap oak for maple I have, what would be the best way to attach the edge band -- glue and nails, glue and screws, just glue?

Thanks

[Jerry Miner]

water-based poly will be fine. Glue only is enough, but mdf can be "thirsty" so use plenty.

[John Lankers]

I want to band the edges with either some scrap oak for maple I have, what would be the best way to attach the edge band -- glue and nails, glue and screws, just glue?

Thanks

IMO nails and screws can easily split the MDF and look cheap, I use glue and dowels to apply solid wood edging, they also prevent the wood from shifting when putting the clamps on.

[Matt Day]

I don't bother making my Shop stuff pretty and especially for something like that. Mine is on a flip too cart I made with cheap 3/4 construction ply. Works just fine.

[Randy Red Bemont]

MDF will make for a great top for your stand. As for edge banding just use glue, no nails. You can poly the whole top or leave it bare. It's in the workshop after all.

Red

[Paul Wunder]

As others has said, MDF would be fine.

My Ridgid spindle sander rests on a table top made of 2x4's (ripped the edges for edge gluing). I edge glued the boards, sanded to 120, rounded over the edges and put three coats of WB Poly on it. Really looks good: rock solid and no edge banding required

[Jim Becker]

My whole miter station has an MDF top and it's been in service since the early 2000s. It's never had any finish applied outside of some BLO...and then only one time years ago. It's edge banded with some scrap oak and has held up very well. That said, the "one spot" where something wet got set years ago does have a swollen ring on it, but in my case, it's out of the way and not going to affect anything. (It's where "stuff" gets stored well behind the fence during projects) BLO coated with a film finish like you propose is perfectly fine for a tool support surface as long as you have good support under it so it can't bend over time. And it's, um...inexpensive. :) You can very easily put plastic laminate over it later if you want, too, as it makes a great substrate for laminate.

[Frederick Skelly]

As the others said, MDF will work fine, as will water-based poly. I'd definitely consider a rib down the middle of the underside to prevent sag though.

[Myk Rian]

IMO nails and screws can easily split the MDF.
Pre-drill the holes and use sheet metal screws. They are straight shank and hold just fine.

[John Sanford]

I had my Rigid OSS/BS on an inexpensive metal stand with a particle board top. I took some 2x Douglas Fir construction lumber, ripped it and glued up a new top. Flattened it, thickness planed a bit, cut to length, rounded over the edges, drilled the holes. Slapped some finish (waterbase acrylic??) on it, mounted it to the base, and mounted the tool. It looks good, will be durable, gave me some experience with a "butcher block" type glue-up, and cost very little. No messing around with putting some sort of edging on it either. Given that I have a deep, abiding hatred of particle board, I just threw the old top into the trash. I didn't even keep it for making something else.

Would this be as quick as making it from MDF or plywood? No, but it's still pretty quick.

[Steve Mellott]

If you want it to look pretty, use a sink cutout from a counter top and attach a wood edging the whole way around. For additional support, you can either glue a piece of mdf under the sink cutout or strengthen with a wooden rib.