I am blessed with two large hickory trees that must be dropped this fall in East TN, at my retirement house . The goal here is to build MY BENCH 36″x 90″ install a twin screw tail vise and an Emmert clone as a face vise with three sled bases (4x 4) as supports using 2×8 stringers all M&T.
I expect to get at least full 2×4 from the mill which will sleep in my 28′ barn shed rafters for 2+ years to dry . The sled stock I may send to a kiln.
The first question is even if I do a great job to get a flat top, how do I finish the top?
It will probably be glued up in three slabs, run thru a 13″ planner.
The top will flatten out with a #604, Clifton 4 1/2, LV bevel up jack or a LN 5 1/2 yorkie as required. Finishing could be a PC 333 ros, PC 505 half sheet, hand card scrapers, a LV scraper plane or a sanding block?
The real question is which tools produce the best surface and what will be the best finish to apply. Peace, Patrick
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And the answer to the real question is "Any of those planes , properly set up will do and the one you smile on the most will do best. Followed by card scraper and brief visitation by abrasive paper wrapped in hand block, for tactile purposes, you understand.
The above is to do the job. If you want to play/have fun/learn about other good tools throw in the scraper plane, especially as it is Lie Nielsen.
Throw out the silly sanders-especially as you are using hickory."
The finish on the top.........is not for me to answer, because I do/have done all kinds of things on my bench top.
Philip, thanks for the focus. I love all my kids, the 604 is fettled and tuned for it's Clifton iron and breaker and loves happy wood. The LV low angle jack(correction) and the Clifton 4 1/2 are the most used for unhappy grain and the LN 5 1/2 was selected over Clifton's for the extra weight and York pitch(rather than swapping irons) and is the last choice for nasty wood . The scraper plane is a LV not LN, it is a joy with it's larger foot print and comes to hand better for me than the Stanley size. I expect it to see a lot of use on this top in construction and future maintainence.
Next the straight line sanding block and finally a finish . I am thinking oil on all sides but need help here on final grit and type of finish. Regds, Patrick
Does a benchtop really need to be finished? It's not furniture, it's a tool.
Daggs, I have a maple factory top (from PA I think) @ 2.5 thick with only 3 finger joints 28"x72". It's not finished on the bottom? but the rest is sealed and I wax it to avoid the glue spots. I think a proper old time oil finish will protect better, not be as slick and retard moisture in different seasons, just my simple logic. I just need to find a finish.
Then there is the matter of pride, looks, functionality, even vanity if you will. This is my last bench for retirement to make better chairs, moderate case goods, nice boxes and occasional pieces for family, friends, me and maybe sell a few to buy some better woods. It will be left to my son and maybe he winds up putting a big block chevy on it for a rebuild? At that point I woun't be here to cry. I did my thing. All the best, Pat
As far as the finishing issues are concerned, the first issue is whether to finish the top at all. Many benches are not finished at all.
If you to give your top some sort of protection from dirt, gunk and glue blobs, I have two recommendations.
The first is to use a mineral oil and paraffin mixture similar to that used on butcher blocks and cutting boards. This is an easy to apply and an easy to repair/renew finish that does a good job without making the surface too slippery. Slippery is not good on a bench top. The treatment is made by heating the mineral oil in a double boiler and then shaving in the paraffin. Proportion is not real critical. Something like one part paraffin to 5-6 parts of mineral oil is about right. Liberally wipe it on when it is hot and let it soak in overnight. Do it again the next day and continue until no more is absorbed. Lightly scrape off any excess and buff it with a soft cloth. This provides some water protection so you can wipe off liquid adhesive and glue blobs will pop right off when dry.
My favorite treatment is sort of the same. However, I like to use an oil/varnish mixture. Mix your favorite varnish or poly varnish with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. Apply liberally and let it soak in for 15-30 minutes. Then wipe dry. Do it again the next day but use 4/0 steel wool to apply the mixture. Let it set and then wipe dry. Let it fully dry for 2-3 days and then apply a coat of furniture paste wax and buff. The oil/varnish provides a little more protection than the mineral oil/wax treatment. The paste wax will allow you to damp wipe the surface and glue blobs will pop right off.
To renew/repair the mineral oil/wax treatment, just scrape off any blobs and appy more oil/wax using 3/0 steel wool. To repair the oil/varnish top, just rub the top with mineral spirits using 3/0 steel wool. Wipe off the gunk and let the surface dry. Now apply another treatment with 4/0 steel wool.
I recommend avoiding any film finish. They are easily marred and not easy to repair without removing all the old finish.
Howie, that's precisely what I needed to know, thanks a million. Gratefully, Pat (a competent builder and the world's worst finisher-but I am working on it.)
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