Have had a piece of maple butcher block counter top that I’d like to re purpose as a workbench top.

What would you recommend to use to seal it that would be reasonably resistant to oils and solvents?

Mineral oil or a melted bee's wax treatment.

Epoxy or fiberglass resin would be first class, I think.

Quicker would be a couple coats of shellac and then a couple coats of exterior high gloss polyurethane.

But, I’ll defer to my coatings consultant, Sitka.

Quicker would be a couple coats of shellac and then a couple coats of exterior high gloss polyurethane

This would be my choice for a workbench.

BLO. Thin out the first few coats. Apply. Let it soak for a few minutes and wipe off the excess. Do this until it doesn’t absorb anymore. Makes for a nice finish and basically becomes waterproof. I’ve used it on butcher block counters in the outdoor kitchen. Held up beautifully.

I have done several butcher block bench tops using Deft Wood Finish, it is easy to use and is resistant to oils and solvents used in the shop environment.

Epoxy id hard to beat. Poke around the West Systems web site for a lot of good info. Personally I went with plastic coated Masonite for cheap & easy replacement when it gets ugly.

I know they sell an epoxy kit at Menards for doing bar tops and such, it’s in the wall coverings Dept. That being said a few good oil and wax treatments will probably surprise you.

Can we see some pics of this wood?

Sitka Deer will be along shortly to comment on your BLO job...

John

Equal parts BLO, mineral spirits and either varnish or poly...
One of the oldest wood finishes there is, looks great and can take some abuse...

you could go ahead and mix some Hoppe's, with some of the oils you're hoping not to stain it with, apply a couple of heavy coats and be done with it.... that way its at least evenly stained?

5W30?

I used Waterlox on my reloading bench. Very durable, water and gun cleaning solvent proof. Can be used on wood floors, cabinets, tables, bar tops, etc. It really brings out the grain and beauty of the spalting rock maple top.

Waterlox Tung Oil

What's a good source for cheap or at least reasonably priced butcher block? I need a piece 60"x30" for a reloading bench.

Hers the one I bought

https://www.menards.com/main/kitche...chbblock36x72/p-1444430610433-c-3629.htm

Put one of these in the garage
https://www.samsclub.com/p/ultra-heavy-duty-workbench/prod1490086?xid=plp_product_1_2

Thanks Swifty52, that's a good price for a piece that size.

My butcher block type wood laminate reloading bench, after sanding, got a coat of clear satin polyurethane varnish ten years ago - it has not been blemished or otherwise injured since.

You could tack down a piece of plywood, and change it when it gets beat up.

Yes, but a butcher block reloading bench is so much more....something. Probably loading a lot of .270 Win.

Yes indeed, he can do as he likes.

I used a self leveling epoxy made for bar tops - one fairly heavy coat, easy to apply and it's held up great over the last 15 years.

Ask far as butcher blocks or workbench tops that are tough as iron, the floors out of semi trailers make great work surfaces.

If your reloading,... epoxy like a glossy bar top would make powder policing a breeze.

Hobby shops sell epoxy and hardener kits in various sizes...
I imagine west systems would do nicely too the plunger pump is nice for metering..

Not a loading bench, gonna go with the linseed oil.

That sounds like a plan to me, good luck with it.

Don’t forget the steel wool!

can you clean wood, preserved with linseed oil, with bleach?

You always have to be careful what you clean your wood with!

I don’t know of anything quicker than epoxy resin.

If for food, use Tung oil.

https://www.realmilkpaint.com/blog/tutorials-videos/beginners-guide-pure-tung-oil/

link to Lee Valley bench plans

In 1983 I paid $20 for Lee Valley Modern workbench plans and found about 10 mistakes in the plans.
I bought rock hard maple for $2/ board foot.
The bench weighs about 350 pounds.

Now they only want $15 for the plans 37 years later, and probably without the mistakes.

I used SeaFin, which is Tung oils with a few extra polymers added.

After 37 years I have quit using the surface, and instead tape down 3 to 6 feet of 24" wide butcher paper.
At the end of each project I change the paper. All notes written on the paper are then gone.
Half my projects are metalworking and half are woodworking.

This is the same system your doctor uses after he gets your germ laden bottom off his exam bench.


I clamp a modified CTK rifle vise in the work bench shoulder vise.

Laughing! Still laughing actually!
BLO is worse than useless for a benchtop.

I agree, though I would skip the shellac on clean wood. It will fill faster with shellac but woods good for benchtops are likely quick to fill.

Oil finishes would be way down my list. They are great appearance finishes and easy to repair. But they mark easily, waterstain readily, and are far from solvent-proof.

I would say mineral oil if it were for a kitchen but a couple of nice products that could work for the shop is Sikkens and WATCO.

"Preserved" is outside linseed oil's vocabulary.

Short answer, no. Use a mild solvent like mineral oil and move to mineral spirits if needed.

I used about 6-7 coats of satin poly. I lightly sanded after each coat. I did my kitchen counters with butcher block, too, and after 3 years they still look new.

To achieve the satin finish silica is added to the finish. It disrupts the flat top to keep it from being shiny. Problem is the silica weakens the finish and allows water to get into the finish where it does bad things.

It is far better to use high gloss and buff the finish to achieve the desired level of gloss. As a short cut use gloss all the way to the final coat and top with satin.

Stainless steel.

+1

You can make it as involved and complex as you want, but I would just use a real good Exterior Polyurethane. I'd sand it down to open the grain a bit, then thin the first coat and put it on heavy and let it soak in for a while. Wipe off excess, and after it dries over night, paint it with poly a few times letting each coat dry for a day in between. It makes it dry better in the long run. I have done this to benches years ago, and they only get screwed up if I do something dumb, but normally they hold up well to use as a gun bench or work bench.

Linseed oil by itself, or shellac by itself would be a really poor choice.

Since it is a work bench, I would use what ever I had on hand, but I have a woodshop with quite a bit of finishing materials. Usually for a work bench, I use a mixture of linseed oil, spar varnish, and mineral spirits, but spar varnish by itself would be fine. I just don't like it going on thick, so I thin it out for the first coat or two, then use just the varnish for the final coat or two.

I have a lot of respect for poly. Its very tough. I told on here before about having to rehab a rental unit that belonged to my Dad 2 years ago. The hoarder that was living in it totally wrecked the place. The kitchen cabinets that my folks had put plain old minwax poly on sometime in the late 80's were caked with grease and grime from some 19 or so years of never getting cleaned (previous tenants before hoarder were decent). I took the doors off and cleaned them with a really strong ammonia and water solution and the grime just oozed. But to my amazement, the finish underneath was still stuck on and looked pretty good, just a little dull. Being an overachiever, (ha!) I scuffed them with 120 grit sandpaper and went back with a couple of fresh coats and they looked brand new. That is the great thing about it, if you want to freshen it up you can just clean/degrease, scuff, and give it a fresh coat or two.

IF the bench is going to be inside a shop, I would not go with the outdoor version. I was gonna do that on my cabinets because I was looking for the toughest thing going and found online that the outdoor finishes are softer/more flexible to help stand up to UV and the elements....they are designed for expansion and contraction. The indoor stuff is harder and more abrasion resistant which might be a little better on a worktable.

In general urethanes dry harder if coats are applied rather quickly rather than long drying stretches between coats. The polymers link between coats much better, rather than just within the coats. Can directions will give a strong clue about that and there are exceptions.

Got a little ahead of myself last night, this is what I’ll be using.

Skip the BLO. Hardware store BLO is low grade garbage. It will soften your finish, inhibit drying, add nothing positive, and reduce waterproofness.

Mineral spirits do not improve penetration. It is easy to test for that. A very small amount will improve flowing, but it should not be used unless needed.

Water-Based urethanes are harder than regular oil-based and non-yellowing. They would be an excellent choice for a bench top.

Considering Chinese and Japanese used lac beetles for exquisite finishes well over a thousand years ago and polyurethanes were invented in the 1930s and started being used in finishes in the '40s you can be sure it is one of the newest finishes out there. Adding BLO and mineral spirits is only asking for trouble.

Got the top completed. Ended up going with some exterior grade spar urethane, mainly because I already had some. Oak was used to trim it out and for the box on the slide out.

Should work out nice for some light wood working and stock work.

May yet add some holes for bench dogs and clamps.







This shop table is a culmination of parts scavenged from 4 demo/retrofit jobs I have been on over the years.
The casters came from a junk gurney from a hospital, the table body, top and computer keyboard slider came from 3 different school rebuilds.

Decided to treat myself to a new parrot vise to finish her off.....

That looks great! Nice job.

Nice job on the bench. Looks great.

Lumber liquidators sell butcher block in various sizes and types of woods. Pricing isn’t bad when it’s on sale


I’ll stick with the BLO treatment. This is the outdoor kitchen area. Butcher block gets treated 3 times a year. A light sanding and reapply. Works in southern NJ but apparently in Alaska it’s worthless.

I am going to add a number of butcher block bench tops to my shop and will probably use Home Depot, as they are local and deliver

https://www.google.com/search?q=but...951j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Just what is it about finishes that makes some people get their back up and ignore scientific facts?
What Art has to say about finishes is all scientifically proven. And it’s easy to find corroborating evidence from finish manufacturers.
Is it that “what was good for muh Uncle Fred is good enough for me”?
Anyone that challenges or poo-poos these scientific facts about finishes and the chemical make-up and performance needs to do some reading.
Technology advances, keep up or tell yourself you’re right and ignore the facts.

This is what I would use. Water-based urethanes are very easy to work with and do an excellent job.