Subject: Bench-top finishing

From: [email-masked]
Date: 30 Dec 92 23:26:44 GMT

I'm about to order a bench-top for a bench for a small (8") metal lathe,
and have settled on the laminated maple variety.

But I'm not sure how to finish the top (or bottom).  One method is to
occasionally apply an oil or oil finish.  The other is to seal the thing
up tight with a clear varnish.  I'd like to keep it sealed against stains
caused by cutting fluid drips, and so on.  But in Wyoming, there is a more
insidious threat:  the humidity is so low, especially in winter (15 to 20
percent most of the time), that butcher-block tables often split apart
because the wood dries out.

Any thoughts?  I note that the top and bottom may have different
considerations, and thus oil top with varnish underside might be
a possibility.  The bench frame does allow access to most of the
underside without removal.

Jim Kirkpatrick
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Jack Mcbryde)
Date: 31 Dec 92 05:27:11 GMT

>But I'm not sure how to finish the top (or bottom).  One method is to

I'll echo the previous posters "use the same finish on all sides". And you
might want to consider one of the polyurethane finishes as the top coat.
(My inclination would be Varathane.) In any case I'd test any of the finishes
I was considering for the top coat for resistance to machine oils, etc.
And I'd probably ask on rec. woodworking about the rest.

jack

--
jack      [email-masked]    * All I ask of Thee, Lord
* Christ died for our sins.  Dare we    * Is to be a drinker and fornicator
* make his martyrdom meaningless by     * An unbeliever and a sodomite
* not committing them? - Jules Feiffer  * And then to die. - Claude de Chauvigny

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From: [email-masked] (Kirk Hays)
Date: 31 Dec 92 19:14:48 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] writes:

|> But I'm not sure how to finish the top (or bottom).  One method is to
|> occasionally apply an oil or oil finish.  The other is to seal the thing
|> up tight with a clear varnish.  I'd like to keep it sealed against stains
|> caused by cutting fluid drips, and so on.  But in Wyoming, there is a more
|> insidious threat:  the humidity is so low, especially in winter (15 to 20
|> percent most of the time), that butcher-block tables often split apart
|> because the wood dries out.

Having seen the other followups, I have one further suggestion:

epoxy

I use Brownells' "AcraGlass" epoxy, without the fiberglass flocking, to
seal gunstocks and grips *totally* from the effects of water and humidity.

It is impervious to oils and greases and every solvent I've tried, and you can
repair it with itself if it gets dinged or gouged.

Doesn't look half bad, either.

Cleanup is with vinegar(!).

Brownells is in Montezuma, Iowa, and their number is (515) 623-5401.  They are
very good at answering technical questions about their products over the phone.

Acraglass is also one of the best epoxies I've seen for general use, as well, so
if you need to mount any special bits on your bench, it'll work for that, too.

-- 
Kirk Hays - NRA Life.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to
do nothing."  -- Edmund Burke (1729-1797)