workbench finishing advise

[Rogers954]

So yesterday I had a chance to finally start my workbench, the last few months have been filled with finishing the garage walls and painting, casing and painting the only window in the shop, painting the gas curb, hanging some overhead racks, and various other projects to get the garage into a nice workspace. So for my bench I used 2x6 for the ladder top framing, 4x4 post for the legs and 2x 3/4 oak plywood to make up the top with a 2 inch overhang for clamping in the front. I'm pretty happy with how the bench turned out (its my first time building one) after lag bolting the frame to the wall and adding the legs the structure is very sturdy. I plan to add some finishing trim wood to the edges to make it look a little more finished and cover the rough plywood edges.

So here are my questions for finishing off the build

The two sheets of 3/4 ply are just siting on the frame for now since I ran out of time yesterday, I see a lot of guys on her glue and screw the two pieces together to make one ridged piece, so are you guys that have done this only screwing the corners of the 2 pieces? or are you running screws in the middle as well? I don't really want to run a lot of screws as I would like to have the option to remove and flip the pieces latter down the line if the top gets messed up and I don't want to see a ton of fasteners.

Also as far as finishing the top goes, I know a lot of guys on here choose to use a piece of Masonite over there plywood for a cheap and tough worktop that is easily replaced, I however bought the best oak plywood that Lowes had because I want to coat the top to really make the wood finish show. I was considering tung oil but I have never worked with it before so I am open to suggestions on what everyone thinks will look good. my workbench isn't going to see a ton of abuse, I don't do a lot on engine type work or anything crazy like that just average around the house/ light auto work. I wanted a good heavy duty top so I went with what I read on here using the two pieces of 3/4 oak ply but I also want something that is semi nice to look at. I plan to pick up some thick rubber type material like a mat or horse stall mat to lay down anytime I going to use some heavy chemicals, heavy beating, or overall messy jobs so the top wont get filthy or tore up to badly.

So basically any helpful info or pictures of your workbench tops that look a litter nicer would be greatly appreciated


Thanks

 

[Rogers954]

Sorry for no pictures, didn't get a chance to snap one yet of the build so far (I always forget to do that) I will add some latter for sure

 

[dirt_dobber]

Can't wait to see the finished top.

 

[Catadj78]

I used 3/4" mdf and 1/8" hardboard on my bar top in the shop. I stained it with some old stuff I had laying around and 2 coats of poly. Wrapped the edge with some old rough cut cedar I cut down. I'm happy with it. Plan on doing all the workbench tops the same way although I may paint then poly rather than stain.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[astroracer]

Sorry, just my opinion, but you didn't build a work bench, you built a show bench. Doesn't make sense to spend big dollars on a top, varnish it to perfection then heat, beat, file and fit stuff on it.
If you want to keep it nice put on a Masonite top for work and take it off for show.
Mark

 

[Rogers954]

Catadj78 thanks for posting the pictures, your top is beautiful, while its more than I want to do to mine it's still a work of art

 

[matt_i]

If you are going to use oak veneer plywood I'd go with something easy like polyurethane, several coats. I'm partial to the solvent based and my Dad always taught me the gloss was harder, but he always finished with satin to cut down the glare yet have a tough base layer(s).

 

[gabulldog]

I used 3/4" mdf and 1/8" hardboard on my bar top in the shop. I stained it with some old stuff I had laying around and 2 coats of poly. Wrapped the edge with some old rough cut cedar I cut down. I'm happy with it. Plan on doing all the workbench tops the same way although I may paint then poly rather than stain.

Great looking finish on the table. I've built one similar to this, but didn't apply any poly. That may be my next step, and I like the idea of painting it rather than staining it.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I bought a piece of maple butcher block when a home center went out of business. It's served me for years

 

[ASRoff]

this is the stuff I used for my top coat on my concrete counter top in the kitchen (will sent pictures of that when I get back to the house.... Its good stuff... goes on easy and if the damn cat walks thru it before its cured.... you can sand and polish it out...

http://www.bestbartopepoxy.com/epox...xy +countertop&utm_content=Countertop - Epoxy

 

[Richard Cranium]

Wow that looks nice, I hope it stands up to your uses.

 

[Daves69]

I used a mix of equal parts gloss polyurethane, tung oil ,and mineral spirits. This was on an oak top for my son . This combination is incredible, really brought out the character of the wood.

 

[Rogers954]

I used a mix of equal parts gloss polyurethane, tung oil ,and mineral spirits. This was on an oak top for my son . This combination is incredible, really brought out the character of the wood.

Id love to see how that tuned out, so you mixed all this together and applied? what method did you use to apply it?

 

[Rogers954]

Everything I have read and researched said a lot of guys went with tung oil because they said it was easy to apply and touch up, how well does it protect wood from spills and stains?

 

[Know Wosad]

I use a hardwood floor finish on anything wood in the shop or outdoors. If I remember I'll post the brand. Its at the shop.Dries almost instantly.It has the UV resistant stuff in it too. Harder than a minister at a scout jamboree.Its a two part system

 

[Rogers954]

I use a hardwood floor finish on anything wood in the shop or outdoors. If I remember I'll post the brand. Its at the shop.Dries almost instantly.It has the UV resistant stuff in it too. Harder than a minister at a scout jamboree.Its a two part system

hahahahahaha thanks for the reply interested in seeing the product your talking about and impressed by you definition of "hardness" hahaha

 

[icthruu74]

For a workbench, I'd just take a quart or so of used oil and dump it on there first. Might as well get it out of the way since I'm sure to do it at some point in time anyway. For my use, I'd worry about chemicals affecting the finish - carb cleaner, battery acid, gas, brake fluid, and whatever else might spill out of a small engine or car part.

 

[jimreed2160]

Workbenches are as personal as shorts, so expect to hear many opinions. The top surface and finish really depends on your personal mix of projects. Since you mentioned light household projects, I like your Tung oil idea because it would be durable but easy to touch up. I personally spray everything with rattle can poly because I am lazy about finish.

Good luck with your bench. We are all waiting for pictures. In the meantime, check out the Woodworking 101 thread in the General Tools section. There are lots of ideas there.

 

[Ed Devinney]

I love tung oil but wouldn't use it on a working bench. It's pretty but not tough. Easy to sand and touch up, though. I second the poly, or poly over Masonite to cover the nice thing finish if you use it.

 

[Davefr]

Finish it all you want but if you do real work on the surface it'll look like **** in no time.

I'd recommend covering the top with smooth 18 X 18 PVC garage floor tiles. They're tough, easy to clean, look great and easily replaced if one get's damaged.

http://www.americanfloormats.com/tuff-seal-tiles/

 

[Rogers954]

So what about stain and poly? How many guys on here have used it and been happy with the combination?

 

[Rogers954]

As promised here's a picture of the bench so far, of course I couldn't even finish it without **** already making its way on top of it, man I can't wait to get this place organized

 

[Rogers954]

Also following the picture a quick question for you structural engineers, hopefully you can tell from my crapy picture but I though bolted the frame to the 4x4's in the front with 1/2" bolts do I need to though bolt going though the sides as well?

 

[Rogers954]

The more I look around an read from here and other sites the more it looks like maybe a Masonite cover sheet is what I should go with, it's cheap and tough and I have seen a few pictures of it coated and it looks pretty nice, I could coat the frame and the hard board that is going to band the top to get a nice look and then not worry about the Masonite top getting screwed up.

 

[Daves69]

Id love to see how that tuned out, so you mixed all this together and applied? what method did you use to apply it?

I will have to get some pics. This was one of the easiest finishes I have applied.
First coat was applied and sanded with 220 grit then used a shop vac to remove the dust. Applied two more coats all applied with a brush. The top is 3 x 7 and only took about 3oz per coat.
I did some research on this mixture and found numerous posts on forums.

 

[Leken]

A buddy of mine finished his work bench with galvanized tin, formed it up the back like a back splash and bent over the front edge. Pretty indestructible he has a motorcycle repair shop, so it gets abused.

 

[jimreed2160]

As promised here's a picture of the bench so far, of course I couldn't even finish it without **** already making its way on top of it, man I can't wait to get this place organized

Sorry man, but there is no cure for FSD (flat surface disease).

 

[Koje]

Sorry, just my opinion, but you didn't build a work bench, you built a show bench. Doesn't make sense to spend big dollars on a top, varnish it to perfection then heat, beat, file and fit stuff on it.
If you want to keep it nice put on a Masonite top for work and take it off for show.
Mark

Agree with this. If it is a work top that will be used then it doesn't matter what it looks like because it will get abused anyway. Just put something on it cheap and easy to remove. Hot glue or epoxy will do the job if you do not want screws showing.

 

[2002maniac]

For a workbench, I'd just take a quart or so of used oil and dump it on there first. Might as well get it out of the way since I'm sure to do it at some point in time anyway. For my use, I'd worry about chemicals affecting the finish - carb cleaner, battery acid, gas, brake fluid, and whatever else might spill out of a small engine or car part.

LOL. It does look very nice!

 

[Rogers954]

So since no one answered my question Ill throw it out again I know its hard to tell from the small picture but you can make out that I through bolted the 4x4 legs through the 2x6 in the front should I also run bolts though the side? I'm not sure if this is beneficial or not to do I just want the bench to be very stable and I figured bolting it though the side will add strength to the legs

 

[ford33]

No need to bolt the side apron to the side legs. The 2x6 across the front will support the top and transfer the load to the legs. The legs appear to extent to the bottom of the top surface. You have it bolted to both walls so that will provide lateral stability. The only reason to attach the legs to the side apron is to provide some support to the tall leg if you hit the leg on the side.

 

[Rogers954]

No need to bolt the side apron to the side legs. The 2x6 across the front will support the top and transfer the load to the legs. The legs appear to extent to the bottom of the top surface. You have it bolted to both walls so that will provide lateral stability. The only reason to attach the legs to the side apron is to provide some support to the tall leg if you hit the leg on the side.

Thanks for the response I didn't really think that they were needed the bench feels very sturdy already since I first installed a header on the back wall then the frame on top of that and everything is lagged to the back wall. Got my 2 sheets of 3/4 ply glued and screwed and it's currently curing on my garage floor with some weight on it, hoping to get that set and screwed to the frame today and then I'm going to give the frame a quick sanding and put some stain and Polly on it to dress it up after I put my 1/3 banding around the top to finish it off. After that all that's left is to put some hard board on top and mount my vice, thanks to everyone on here for all the helpful responses more pictures to follow soon. Happy holidays

 

[Dr Stan]

My benches are made from commercial solid core doors that had been installed less than 2 yrs in a hotel being demolished. For the top I bought commercial bathroom wall covering, the kind with a pebble like surface. Holds up well and the texture allows one to easily pick up small parts, fasteners, etc.