Finish on Shop Furniture and Jigs

[Michael Lutz]

What do people finish their shop storage and jigs with? I have been building a storage chest under my workbench out of BB and Maple veneer plywood. On a RAS cabinet I used a polyurethane, the fumes of which were strong in the house for at least a couple days. Is there something that would have less solvent off gassing? I am looking for a clear finish.

Thanks,

Mike

[Joe Chritz]

This will be moved to the finish forum soon but here goes...

Anything waterbased or shellac is what you need.

I normally finish drawers with zinseer shellac cut to 2#. Cabinet parts and anything with a clear hard finish gets Target USL waterbased.

Joe

[glenn bradley]

I'm with Joe. Shellac is goof proof and inexpensive and easily repaired / repeated.

[Jesse Thornton]

Ditto. Shellac is inexpensive, easy to use, fast drying, repairable, and looks good to boot. Plus, the wax content (if it's not dewaxed) makes for smoothly sliding jig parts.

[Tim Wagner]

just one question. why does shop storage and jigs need to be finished? I may be nieve here, but It is just shop storage and equipment right??

[Bob Lang]

Nothing at all for jigs. The idea of a jig is to make the work go faster. Delaying the process for hours or days to make the jig look pretty doesn't make much sense to me. If a surface needs to be slippery, I'll put some paste wax on it, but that's it.

If it's a storage cabinet, shellac or a waterbased finish will give you some protection from spills and such without stinking up the house.

Bob Lang

[Jim Becker]

Nothing or BLO or BLO/Shellac.

[Michael Lutz]

What is BLO?

Thanks,

Mike

[Al Wasser]

If it needs a finish, it'll probably get whatever I have on hand and that might be paint of a light color. To me it's the old form vs function debate and in a shop environment function wins -- who cares about pretty or form

[Nancy Laird]

What is BLO?

Thanks,

Mike

Boiled linseed oil

This: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...=abbreviations will give you a whole list of the shortcuts we take on here.

Nancy

[Alex Yeilding]

just one question. why does shop storage and jigs need to be finished? I may be nieve here, but It is just shop storage and equipment right??

For me, if it's a quick one-time jig, no finish unless there is a reason like glue release. Others that get repeated use or shop storage, shellac takes nearly zero time, reduces splinters, and does not accumulate dust--easier to keep clean.

[Jesse Thornton]

just one question. why does shop storage and jigs need to be finished? I may be nieve here, but It is just shop storage and equipment right??

Anything made of wood will last longer and be stabler if it is sealed with a finish. Temperature and humidity levels change radically over the seasons in my neck of the woods, so the minimal effort it takes to slap on a coat of shellac (usually in the evening before leaving the shop, so no time lost) seems worthwhile to me.
As far as being 'just a shop', I don't see any benefit in having an ugly, strickly utilitarian workspace. Form never trumps function, but I place a lot of value in having an inspiring and attactive environment to work in. To each his/her own.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Mike,
I use MinWax water poly for a clear coay. It's fairly tough, easy cleanup and the Lowes right down the street carries it.
I've made it my standard clear finish kind of by accident.
I had 3 or 4 small cans of it laying around so i oured them off into a larger can. Now when I need a clear for something, I pick up a can at Lowes and what I don't use, I pour into the "slop bucket".

The other thing I use is mistinted paint from the same Lowes. Again, I have a "slop bucket" that I pour most leftover latex into. I also have a can of almost black dark gray.
Most of the nasty mistints are pretty dark colored. By mixing it all together and addding some of the very dark gray, I end up with a pretty consistant "utility gray" for around the shop.

I was reminded this past Friday that uncoated wood can warp. My circular saw board - painted yellow - could double for one of the McDonalds golden arches.