Workbench top finish

[Sasha]

I am in the process of building myself a workbench out of Jarrah. (Why jarrah? Only because I love the look of the wood)
What would everyone recommend to finish off the workbench with?
I guess I need something that is hard wearing and easily maintained. But I am open to any suggestions.
Thanking you in advance for your help.

[rsser]

Nothing much will withstand the punishment a workbench top will get. Just seal it with shellac or the like to stop stains from soaking in.

Ern

[ubeaut]

All my workbenches have a coat of shellac as suggested by Chris, the better ones are also covered with tempered masonite which can be replaced when it gets too ratty. So far in some 20 years of use I have only replaced 1 lot of masonite once and that was on the carving bench used by students for 15 years.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

[q9]

We made our work bench out of ironbark, the only finish applied was *clean* motor oil. Nothing much sticks to it. Draw back is it takes a while to soak in.

[DPB]

I second Neil's suggestion. My workbench is two years old, get fairly heavy use, and hardly shows any wear - just the ususal stain marks, and chisel nicks.

The tempered Masonite top is retained within a border of Tassie Oak that I used to finish the edges of the top. This boarder sits above the surface of the bench by the thickness of the Masonite, giving it a flush fit. The Masonite is subject to a slight bit of curl, so I've tacked it to down with a few finishing nails. Seems to do the trick.

------------------
Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!

[Ben K]

:confused:
Any idea where to pick up this tempered masonite?
Is it suitable to cut and drill on?

[Robert WA]

My workbench is jarrah and karri. Why? Because it grows round here and was available at the time from a salvage place.
Both timbers weather grey over time in sunlight and/or heat if not given some finish.
I gave mine periodic, all over coats of light machine oil for a few months after completing it. Splashed a coat over every surface with a brush and wiped any excess away after a few minutes.
I built it about 8 or 9 years ago and it is still as good as new, despite some heavy work.
These days I give it a scrape now and then, to get rid of accumulated gunge, then wipe it over with some oil.
One point ... Jarrah is a stable timber when properly dried. If it is a bit green or has been badly dried so as to be uneven as to moisture content, it can twist, bend and wind like a pretzel after being worked.

[Shane Watson]

Gee, mines just covered with glue... Mwahahahahah....

[DPB]

Ben, don't know the NSW suppliers. I purchased Masonite in Melbourne at Gunnersen Timbermark. They had it at $9.25/metre for 4.8mm thicknessin Fairfield. (Price may have changed as this is a while back that I checked.)

This is a trade only outlet who will sell for cash over the counter. (03 9647 - 9911)