Finish for maple workbench?

[John K Jordan]

Hey workbench experts! I primarily do woodturning but I built a bench with a top of hard maple, good and dry. I use it mostly as a staging, assembly, and detailing bench for turnings.

I recently had some fun with a spilled and unnoticed bottle of CA glue so I just scraped and sanded the top.

Is it recommended to finish the top with something? When I built it I put some "danish" oil on it.

JKJ

[Brian Holcombe]

I use a finish called 'hand plane'.

[Prashun Patel]

I have had them both unfinished and finished. Finishing makes it easier to get glue off and can prevent metal from embedding into the wood. The best finish for a bench to prevent glue and finish spills is a sacrificial piece of hardboard.

[Dave Cav]

I have both a workbench and an assembly table. The workbench top is 3" of face glued ash. I try not to do any gluing or finishing on the workbench, and it's finished with BLO. Any spills get scraped off. My assembly table top is a 4'x8' torsion box with a sacrificial hardboard top with a coat of (I think) Deft or shellac. When it gets too nasty I turn it over. Glue, etc gets sanded off with a ROS. I try to remember to put a drop cloth down before I do a big glue up or finish work to keep major spills off the top. I use the cotton drop cloths from Harbor Freight; they are big and priced well. I have one for gluing, one for finishing, and a clean/new one for assembly to keep the project from getting beat up.

[Jim Barrett]

This is what LN uses on their workbenches:

1/3 spar varnish, urethane,
1/3 mineral spirits
1/3 blo

[jack duren]

I have an 8/4 hickory top and have nothing on it. If I put anything on its Johnsons paste wax from time to time....

[John K Jordan]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess this is more of a work table than a "real" workbench. But I can see the value of keeping it unfinished or waxed.

When gluing things on purpose I tape down a piece of aluminized mylar, great material, the stuff they make Fritos bags from - I have wide rolls with thousands of feet.

Jim, that's the same "traditional" finish recipe woodturners often use on turned pieces.

JKJ

[jack duren]

Another option....
FH08DJA_PAPCOV_02.JPG20141007_083300.jpg8c8e7a88fd7ca3ec7051ea4de8caa47c.jpg

[Jess Coleman]

I was taught that when you built a bench you finished it with BLO applied as follows.
Once a day for a week.
Once a week for a month.
Once a month for a year.
Once a year for a lifetime.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

See my reply to this similar thread- http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...hing-the-bench

It's a recipe for a linseed oil, pure gum turpentine, and beeswax finish. Reading it over, I said I use 2oz of beeswax. I'm thinking even more than that. I'm not one to measure stuff- I just add until it looks right. The more beeswax you add, the thicker the mix, and also the waxier the finish. The wax repels all glues, even West System epoxy.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I was taught that when you built a bench you finished it with BLO applied as follows.
Once a day for a week.
Once a week for a month.
Once a month for a year.
Once a year for a lifetime.

That's for a chopping block. For a workbench you don't need that much oil.

[Patrick Chase]

My assembly table top is a 4x8" torsion box...

Wow, that sounds like it would be a great place to assemble an 18" stonehenge.

[Dave Cav]

Wow, that sounds like it would be a great place to assemble an 18" stonehenge.

OK, I fixed it...my assembly table won't fit into a FedEx envelope.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Like Dave Cav I finished my 3" thick ash benchtop with BLO and later waxed it. I also use an assembly table for gluing and finish but mine is my old 30" x 72" maple topped bench.

[Brian Holcombe]

my old 30' x 72" maple topped bench.

Handy to have a 30' long bench laying around