Maple Workbench Slab Finishing

[Brian Dormer]

I just bought a 25"x72"x1-3/4" slab of laminated maple for a workbench top.

Since I'm building off the Veritas plans and need to shorten the bench a little to fit my shop, I will be making some cuts (making two 10-3/4"x65" slabs) - first with a circular saw, then either with a TS or a router to clean up the circular saw cuts. I will also be drilling lots of dog holes (I think the plans call for almost 40).

The slab has some kind of finish on it already - but when I'm finished, I will probably be using a WATCO Oil finish for the entire bench. I'm concerned that when I cut thru the existing finish, exposing raw wood, that the top will absorb (or lose) moisture and start moving around.

My question is - as I cut (and later, drill dog holes) in the slab(s) - how quickly do I need to re-seal (with poly?, shellac?, WATCO?) the newly exposed raw wood?

Also - do I need to use the SAME (WATCO) finish top and bottom - or can I just leave the original (poly?) finish on the underside?

[Steve Schoene]

The original finish isn't poly, it's most likely a catalyzed lacquer of some sort.
Remove it if it is too slick to work on, otherwise I'd just put a coat of Watco over the cut end to make the color look right.

If the slab has had plenty of time to stabilize in your shop conditions, removing the finish isn't something that is going to cause an immediate reaction.

You'll have plenty of time to remove and replace. I would be consistent with similar finish on both top and bottom.