So I was advised against MDF as a bench top after it was to late. I'm concerned with loosing the flatness of my bench as it wears and can't really be planed flat again. I wondering if there is some sort of finish or lacker that can be applied that can mabe be sanded flat after to strengthen the top.
I really don't think any finish can "strengthen" a top. Are you talking about "losing the flatness" in terms of 1/1000 of an inch? The same would apply to a solid wood or plywood top. Unless I'm misunderstanding your situation.
You don't want a smooth surface, you want a "dead flat" surface. That's a few thousands of an inch if you can get it, but I think those who hand plane their top probably are happy with 1/32", which is a few hundredths.
The MDF is flat, period, if it's supported. It may gouge, but it will stay flat if it doesn't warp, but it won't warp if you keep it dry and support it well. Any coating on the top isn't going to affect the flatness, and short of a poly build up like a bar top, it won't stop any tool from gouging. Sometimes, you put a piece of hardboard on top of the MDF, which you can replace when you need to.
How thick is the MDF, and what is underneath it?
Don't second guess yourself too much - plenty of beginning jocks have MDF bench tops to start. It's an inexpensive way to get a flat surface.
I applied (2) heavy coats of Johnson's paste wax to my MDF bench top. Glue and finish will scrape off (easily) after curing and you can always re-apply as it wears. The only draw back I've seen is the surface becomes rather slick, so when you're sanding small parts with a ROS you'll need some tool box / rubber shelf liner to keep parts from skittering about.
Thanks to all of you for your input. One of my major concerns is that I'm a heavy water drinker and tend to slop it about quite a bit. I've seen what happens when it gets wet and it's not easy to get it back to flat again without tearing it up. I actually have 3 layers laminated together on top of an old metal desk frame I found in the basement. The bench is about 5 feet long and has two metal cross bars supporting it. I don't think we have to worry about support.
Oh I'm not real concerned with 1000th's of an inch, just looking to keep a decent reference surface. So I guess it's either put something over it or the wax idea which I liked for my particular concern. Unfortunately I was dumb and laminated all 3 pieces together to the frame as well, so I can't really see any easy way to peel and replace.
Thanks again guys and any other input is appreciated by me and probably any others in a similar situation.
I'd probably seal it with shellac and/or poly. Take the faces off if you can and seal the edges of the MDF. If you can raise the edges 1/8", then I'd probably drop the hardboard on there, and seal that the same way. I might even put something in the poly to give the surface some grip. I think wax is not such a great idea on a benchtop - you don't want things sliding on it. There are folks that "tooth" their bench surface to get more grip.
Man, am I really that bad of a communicator. I can not disassemble any of the current top without destroying it. It is glued into one solid piece I think the MDF was about 3/4 inch x 3 leaving the frame a little lip on the bottom to hold the top from sliding side to side in any direction. I can lift the whole thing up and remove it all as one solid piece and that's about it.
I like to thin out spar varnish 50/50 with mineral spirits and apply it to MDF. It really drinks it in and provides some good protection I think. Give it a couple of coats.
Jeff, can you disassemble any of the current top without destroying it? jk
MDF is fine. Makes for a great work bench top. It takes a lot of water to really deform the MDF. Do you slobber like a camel?
If you are concerned about it (like for spills), I'd seal it off with oil-based poly and then affix hardboard to the top.
I think you have a very fine workbench…and I think many people around here have a false sense of what is truly needed in a workbench. Having an heirloom workbench is somewhat of a rite of passage, but it's not a necessity.
Cos, that was hilarious!!! And yes I do slobber like a camel sometimes…lol What is "hard board" do you mean Masonite or an actual piece of hard wood? Here is a pic of my water "jug" for your entertainment. If that tipped I think that would be considered a camels slobber
I put the cheapest piece of formica I could find on my mdf top. It was flat finished…not stippled. Worked great. If you but the spray can contact cement it is very easy to put a uniform coat with no humps in it.
Tedstor +1 I have 4 laminate covered MDF top for more than 10+ years, all are flat and laminate does not care if it gets wet at times if done correctly. The colors and options are endless, working it is fairly easy even if you have to use a file to finish it as I did.
I am certainly no expert as far as a finish goes but I can recommend a good water bottle that only dispenses water when you suck on the tip (and yes I know how bad that sounds). The first thing that came to mind was the movie airplane where he throws the drink in his eye after he said "he had a drinking problem"
Another vote for covering it with Formica for a lot of reasons: stays flat and smooth, glue pops right off, and if you use white like I did you can write notes/measurements on it. AND it's immune to camel slobber!
I've had a workbench with an MDF top for more than 35 years. I've spilled gallons of coffee on it. When I first built it I put two coats of polyurethane paint on it. The first coat was sort of a beige. About 10 years later I sanded it up a bit to give it some tooth and gave it another couple of coats of polyurethane paint. That one was yellow. Another few years passed and after some more sanding I gave it another couple of coats of the same yellow. Glue won't stick to it. Motor oil won't penetrate it. Roubo, it ain't but neither am I. Whenever I get the urge to build a new bench. I have a cup of coffee and think about the other things I want to build. Pretty soon the "new bench urge" goes away.
If you guys were cooks we'd all be beyond hungry. You'd still be fussing about the table cloth and the napkins and the salad forks a week from yesterday.
Just build something, Jeff. It's a workbench, not a Master Table for the U.S. Bureau of Standards. Be a job creator, and put that pretty flat, pretty, flat, surface to work!
Go for it!
In a year, or five, it will be a testament to your efforts, a rosetta stone of all the skill dialects you have learned. It will have sustained the whacks of miss-aimed mallet shots and will have survived slopped H20 and will still be your silent and loyal partner in every project you do.
Fret no more about that surface. Do not strip its lovely mitered sides. Do not douse it with this or drown it in that. Elevating the humble work surface to something otherworldly won't make your work any better; in fact, your subconscious efforts to not harm the surface while you are building something truly beautiful and achingly tactile will enhance by a factor of 3.14159 the likelihood of something going awry at the end of the chisel.
Leave your tuxedo in the closet, put on some real clothes and get with the tools and bring on the wood!
" a factor of 3.14159" waxing eloquence from Mr. Lee.
Thanks for the laugh.
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