Workbench Finish Question

[Winton Applegate]

News show demonstration. of linseed oil fire.

Wrong terminology but right demonstration.
Another “evaporating oil” believer. What they mean is the oil cross links / oxidizes producing heat during the chemical change using the oxygen in the air. When the rags/papers are layered, insulated and there is lots of air to feed it the heat builds up and cannot dissipate fast enough and the result is combustion and flames.

If the oil is one or two layers, not well insulated the heat dissipates too fast to build up and there is no combustion / flames.
or
under water there is not enough oxygen and and the water acts as a heat sink that draws off any heat rapidly.

Here is an extremely good article .
well actually here but you have to pay for it. WORTH IT !

See my posts in the camellia oil on the stones thread. The oil is very concentrated in a smear and a puddle. Absolutely no danger of it / them combusting because the oil isn't spread out on a rag or paper so it can take in oxygen all around it and the glass dissipates any heat way too fast to build up. Of these four oils the stand oil and the tung oil would be the flammable ones. The others are mineral oil and just sit there and look bored (and boring). Those are not drying oil (apparently the camellia is imitation; basically machine oil with a nice name on the bottle) The WD-40 and other machine oils are formulated specifically not to oxidize. and can actually take a fair amount of heat applied to them without changing.

Sounds complicated but basically drying oil is catalyzed (formulated) to . . . well . . . dry (oxidize / change / solidify)
and
lubricating machine oil is formulated to take heat and still resist drying (oxidizing / changing / solidifying).

PS: here is the latest photo of the infamous "evaporating" oils (ha, ha, ha). Not gonna happen.
The green looking ones are the tung oil and are not actually green they are just refracting color from the glass; I have the light very low and raking across the surface so I can photograph the oil. The camellia and WD-40 disappear from the photo when I light them from above.

The tung oil has actually hardened over and wrinkled up a bit. The stand oil is linseed oil but is for oil painting and drys extremely slowly so it does not wrinkle or crack when mixed with artist oil paint.

The artificial camellia oil and the WD-40 are still quite fluid and obviously have not evaporated. I bet we could come back in a year from now and they would both be there and in the same fluid state.

PPS: my original batch of camellia oil from the same company and in the same type of bottle did seem to oxidize and turn gummy on my saws. For all practical purposes this new version is better because it doesn't get gummy.

[Don Rogers]

thank you all for your replies and suggestions.

"To finish or not to finish". That is the question.

Well, you have given me lots to think about and now it's up to me to decide. So many different answers!!!

I have some BLO, shellac and Danish oil on hand so I'm thinking one or a combination of those. It really looks like whatever I do, the finish or lack of finish should not be slippery when dry. I agree with that but want some kind of finish that will provide some (or at least limited) protection against dirt, rust, paint, grease, etc. It's probably best to try various combinations on scrap wood before I decide.

Thank's again for your help.

Don

[Don Rogers]

Winton, I did not see your post (#16) before mine (#17) until now but want you to know I really appreciate your dissertation on spontaneous combustion. It sets my mind at ease on that subject.

Thank you,

Don

[Mark AJ Allen]

I have yet to hear a good reason to finish the top of a bench.

No finish on my bench. Made from 2 by's.

[Prashun Patel]

I don't have an assembly bench (read, I'm too lazy to clear it) so I often have to use glue on my workbench. Without a finish, I'd be more of a pain to clean up. I also find a finished bench easier to sweep than a non-finished bench, which I also have.

[dan sherman]

I have yet to hear a good reason to finish the top of a bench.

A good one has been listed on this thread several times. A finish can make cleaning up glue drips and finish spills much easier.

[Don Rogers]

Well, the top looks so nice after being surfaced, I want it to stay that way as long as possible without doing more than a little oiling or shellacking. And Im sure to use it for non-woodworking activities also. Who knows what may spill on it. Hopefully a quickie finish might just help.

Don

[ernest dubois]

What will you do when you flatten your bench? Refinish? And don't forget the workbench surface has also a holding function itself aided by friction which any finish, particularly wax will diminish. Look, if glue gets on it wipe it off, the rest will look bad initially but eventually all merge together and go unnoticed or if something really bugs you just whip out a scraper for a spot touch-up. I have a similar workbench top now 15 years, no finish it gets looking better and better with proper use.

[Prashun Patel]

"refinish" and "finish" overstates what I do. This task amounts to wiping my bench down with a finish-soaked rag from another project. At any point in time, there are saw cuts through it, and worn through parts. It's not finished to improve how it looks. Wax, oil, varnish, nothing hampers the holding power of the bench. Besides, for me, the risk of slippage is in the vise or between the faces of dogs or on the pad of a hold down - not between the piece and the bench.

I think it's splitting hairs. I'm happy enough with both of my benches. I'm not particularly religious either way, but I find it worth it to keep some kind of layer on the bench, but then not to be persnickety about keeping it pristine.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Sorry that I am late to the game, but here is one that I make myself, and it is not slippery, resists glue (even epoxy), and is very protective. It also smells nice, despite the turpentine.

1 pound of beeswax, grated (NOTE: buy a grater that you can dedicate to this task, because it will get caked in beeswax)
1 pint pure gum turpentine When I first got this recipe out of an old, old publication, it was very clear to get pure gum turpentine.
1 pint linseed oil. I use raw linseed, but you can use boiled. The turpentine aids evaporation, but raw linseed will still dry slower.

Shave the beeswax into the turpentine. It should dissolve on its own, but I put it in the sun to help it along. Mix the linseed oil. It's that simple. Brush it on and let it sit for 24 hours or so. If you used raw linseed oil it will take a few days to stop being tacky. The finish you get will be satin, and you can buff it with a soft cloth to get a bit glossier finish. Pour some glue on it and let it dry. It peels right up.

I kind of play around with this recipe, adding more of this, less of that. I don't really exactly measure any more. Equal parts of linseed and turpentine, and then add beeswax until it looks about right.

Pure gum turpentine doesn't smell that bad, and you can even take lemon rind, mull it, and add that to get a lemony smell. (strain before use)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Well, the top looks so nice after being surfaced, I want it to stay that way as long as possible without doing more than a little oiling or shellacking. And Im sure to use it for non-woodworking activities also. Who knows what may spill on it. Hopefully a quickie finish might just help.

Don

Some BLO, or the BLO-Varnish-Turps stuff is all you need / want. Shellac is a film - will not last a week without serious damage. YOu don't want a film on an actively-used workbench.

My 15 year old bench [made out of reclaimed red oak that was 125 years old when it came out of the renovation project next door] got BLO - first coat thinned aggressively, tehn a couple more. Then 3+ weeks wiling off the oil that weeped back out of the pores.

Since then - cigarette ash and spilled cabernet sauvignon. On a couple of occasions when things got out of hand with a gang over, power tools off, there was a couple times a half bottle of very nice Super Tuscan that was added to the mix. Doubled the cost of materials in the bench.

[Mark AJ Allen]

Ouch. Perhaps not finishing a benchtop is incentive to avoid finishing and gluing up work on the primary flat reference surface in a shop.

[ernest dubois]

Ouch. Perhaps not finishing a benchtop is incentive to avoid finishing and gluing up work on the primary flat reference surface in a shop.

Flat, that is, if kept flat.

[dan sherman]

Ouch. Perhaps not finishing a benchtop is incentive to avoid finishing and gluing up work on the primary flat reference surface in a shop.

Have you ever consider, that some people might not have that luxury?

[Tom Vanzant]

I use Watco Danish Oil...wipe on, drink a cup of coffee, wipe off. 24 hours later, it's good to go. Antique Oil works equally well.