Sealing MDF workbench top.

[George Rinehardt]

I have a little question about sealing my MDF workbench top. I recently watched a episode of The Woodsmith Shop about building a "weekend workbench". It looked pretty good and strong and I've been meaning to get a good workbench for a while so I downloaded the plans and built it, (front vise, dog holes and all). It turned out great (big and heavy). Well, at the end of the program Don, the founding editor, is applying some kind of sealent to the top. He didn't say what it was just called it a " regular rubbing oil". He said it was to keep glue from sticking to it and to keep it clean. Has anyone else built this workbench? And if so, what, if anything did you use to treat the top? I don't want anything that is going to make it swell or blister. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Ken Pywell]

Danish oil would work.

[glenn bradley]

I used BLO and mineral spirits mixed 50/50. Applied to top with a small paint roller, flipped top and did the bottom, wait 20 minutes and wiped down the bottom for all I was worth, flipped again and redid the top, waited 20 minutes and wiped it down discarding paper towels at an alarming rate ---> Use safety practices with your BLO soaked rags <---. Let it dry a couple days and applied paste wax.

I re-wax about once a year. Glue still just pops right off with your fingernail even if is has dried there overnight.

[Roger Benton]

tung oil works well too. i use 2 coats tung on my clamping cauls and glue pops right off.
i used equal parts blo/varnish/mineral spirits on my bench top (baltic birch), 3 coats, wiped off about 10 min after application, and so far it seems pretty impervious to glue.

i'm sure tung, blo and danish oils will probably give you similar results, so use what ya got!

[Blake Barr]

I have an MDF topped bench... I used 2x layers of 3/4 MDF and then topped it with a piece of melamine ply from the borg... it was just as cheap as the MDF. Plus I can just replace the melamine as a see fit but the MDF sheets are glued to each other....

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

George, I saw that same episode. You can skip the oil altogether and simply apply paste wax. That's what I do (and others do too) on my Festool MFT. Works great.

[Michael McDonald]

I built that bench and used a finish from FWW #167: "Mix 1 cup oilbased polyurethane brushing varnish with

1⁄2 cup mineral spirits, then add about 2 oz. boiled linseed oil. Adjust the mixture with mineral spirits for proper wiping consistency." Use 3 coats, works great.

[Glen Butler]

My vote goes to paste waste.

I wax all my MDF "tools". My glue up table takes the worst of it and works great with wax. I just scrape of the fallen beads of glue after they dry. Outfeed tables and sleds just slide so nicely with wax too. Hurray for wax.