Thread: Oil the new bench top, or not ?

Gluing plywood to solidwood might cause issues with wood movement in the future. If you keen on using Plywood it might be better to glue 3-4 layers together for your benchtop.

If the top of the current benchtop is bad can you just plane off say 3-5mm and flip the benchtop over?

As for a finish I used a mix of Linseed Oil / Turps and High Gloss Polyurethane (40/40/20) on some Vic Ash I bought cheaply I used about 4-5 coats and it worked well.

joez

Thanks Joe
Sanding is an option, planing is not.... various ingrained glues & other foreign objects...
Although the thinner boards would be even more flexible off the overhang.
Not that I possess either a suitable sander or thicknesser anyway. (I'm hopeless at hand
thinning boards, only worse. Their faces look like the Snowies after I've been at 'em. )
Hence the thick layer of glue thought.

Which is the niggle that I couldn't put my finger on last night.
Once the ply is glued, it is not easily replaced as a single plank is, and it's too wide to
just shave a bit off the top, although the glue lines are a good depth gauge.

Will run with the mix you suggest - just happen to have some left-over polyurethane.
cheers
Alan

a follow-up posting...

Decided that the belt sander wasn't going to be enough.
Top needed replacing. Or a heavy skin.

After dismal experience of trying to get some laminated sail boat centre boards flat & square,
decided skinning in heavy ply matches my skill-set rather than replacing planks.
As the bench is a static item under cover, there shouldn't be too much issue with
relative movement between planks & ply. Liquid nails has a fair bit of elasticity.
Bonus: a 500mm square off cut from 17mm ply sheet would make a great moveable base for
the little drill press I needed to buy to drill my centreboard pivot holes square.
Cool !

Skinned the bench and trimmed it in 45 x 75mm permapine - sacrificial edge.

Ends & back raised 4mm to keep stuff on the bench, and act as dogs.
Have lots & lots of 4mm ply off-cuts I can put on bench if I need to lie something flat over the raised edges.
All good.

Made the base for the drill, and used 3/8 bolts as pins to locate it removeably on my jigsaw table.


Works a treat, and can easily be shifted onto the bench top so that I can support
the centre boards horizontal for drilling.

Sanded bench top silky smooth & decided I won't oil it after all.
The jigsaw table top is exposed ply & it's fine after many years.
Not oiling it will eliminate a possible contamination source for boat bits that need subsequent
coating/gluing with critical adhesion & wetting out.
Cool !

Refitted the vises on the work bench, improving rigidity & position of both.
All good. No, better than good... Great !
Rough job compared with the standard in here, but for me, it's pretty good.
Very happy with the finished article.
.
.
.
Had about 15 seconds of standing back, being satisfied with my handiwork.

Then the capacitor in the fluoro over the workbench exploded, spraying oil all over the work shop.


All over the bench, my sanded centre board, & stock of doweling & other good timber against the opposite wall.




So now the bench top has had a drink of boiled linseed oil (looks & feels great!)


and I'll just have to manage future contamination issues as I make bits & pieces for the boat...

and get a new light for the workshop.

And use alcohol wipes or something on the centreboard before epoxying it.