I'm fed-up with not having a proper workbench so I'm going to make one. Since I just can bring myself to spend $800 for a solid maple top, I'm going to make one with 3/4" sheets of birch plywood.
Question: Since durability will be important, I thought I'd apply a few coats of Varathane or similar.
Anyone have other / better ideas ?
Do the same type of top but use a standard 2 ax 4 stud.
Junior
Think you'll be dis-satisfied after it gets dinged a bit and you cannot repair the finish. Try something like beeswax dissolved in turpentine -- a traditional workbench finish.
That'll work fine, but be sure to use yellow pine and not the (much softer) white pine that is so prevalent these days. And I don't think a film finish like Varathane is the best thing for a workbench. It won't hold up under all the punishment, and a wax finish is easier to maintain and will keep glue from sticking to the surface.
Ah....now we're getting somewhere -a wax finish's resistance to glue is something I hadn't thought of !
As to the 2x4 approach, I had considered that but I'm concerned about getiing it really flat and smooth.
Not that hard if you have a hand plane or two, and all the various tidbits necessary to handle their care and feeding.
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