Thread: Would you finish a machine stand?

I hardly ever finish a job I start...

Yes, most likley would use polyurathane

For me, any old paint I had in the shed.
For you, it sounds as though it would look nice in a poly finish.

Why? Most of benches and cabinets in my shed are al natural, the only finish is the grease, grime, spilled oil, wax etc

G'day Ron,
If you've done a nice job of joinery on your stands, why not give 'em a quick coat of something hard to keep the nice look longer? As most of my benches and stands are made of scrap timber and MDF, they are either left unfinished, or I give them a coverup of hammertone enamel. This is important if they are likely to get splashed with oil or other gooey stuff.
Cheers
Graeme

in a word, no. using more words... some linseed then left in the sun for a week...

Originally Posted by Ron Dunn

I'm making a new stand for my bandsaw.

The frame is tas.oak, it is nicely prepared, joined, etc.

Keeping in mind that this is a machine stand, not a piece of indoor furniture, would you bother finishing it? If so, which finish would you use?

Ron.

The more I am going to be looking at it or handling it the more likely I would be to finish it. In this case I would probably just use some pale boiled linseed oil - maybe a couple of coats with a light sand between?

My recyled recycled stuff would fall apart if I finished it!!
Go ahead Ron, finish the thing!!

Ron,
My advice would be strongly in favour of finishing the stand with boiled linseed oil. Dry wood can become splintery and a quick wipe with BLO will protectthe wood. Also give it a wipe over whenever you think of it. BLO is reasonably cheap and easy to apply.

Jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion

Hi Ron - Slopping something on does make 'em look a bit more attractive, and lets you wipe gunk off a bit easier. Much depends on your style - as you can see by the replies so far, there's the school that likes their sheds to look like they gets lots of use.

Everything in my shed (except the main workbench on the left, for which I actually BOUGHT some of the wood, and the hand tool cabinet, which is built mostly from NG rosewood scaps I scored when helping a friend mill up some baulks he imported) is either built from recycled material or re-used as-is. At first I left some hardwood stands unfinished, but they got a bit damp in my previous (very basic) shed, which made a pretty ugly mess (the one under the mortiser on the right still bears the scars). So I now slap some poly on them - nothing flash - whatever is very cheap or leftover. Dilute about 50/50 with turps, slop on with a rag, wipe off, repeat when first coat dry. Only takes a few minutes, & gives a nice clean surface, with little ot no buildup; looks good, & seems to protect the wood enough inside my (now much more waterproof!) shed. The Maple workbench gets an annual coat of Danish, about every 5 or 10 years, though I do wax the top every now & then to keep glue & other undesirable stuff from sticking too firmly to it.

The drawers at the back were rescued from the skip during a refit where I work. They are solid Hoop - nicely made with (machine) dovetailed drawer sides. Someday, when I'm really bored & avoiding the house, I will clean the multiple layers of paint off & give them the poly treatment too. But don't hold your breath - that's job number 5,455, at last count, and it's probably slipped a bit.......

BTW - the piccy was taken during setup of the new shed - it hasn't looked quite as pristine as that since.

Cheers,