Reloading bench finish suggestions?

M

Munimula

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Mar 15, 2010
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Zillah, WA
#1
So I acquired a 6.75" by 18" by 40' beam for a whopping $10. BUT it's pretty heavily weathered. I love the grey wood but its rough and full of splits and splinters. Trying to decide how to finish it. Sand the beans out of it and oil it up. Or dam the top of it and clear epoxy this thing to lock in all that character.

I used this big bastard.
IMG_20191120_094301_01.jpg


To lift 10' sections into my small truck.
1120191032.jpg


About 320 pounds each if the math is right. So near 650 pounds for the whole bench.

With some ingenuity I got them into place by myself. 10' long x 32" deep.
1120191537.jpg
 
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#5
Back in highschool, our wood shop had what was called a timesaver.

It's basically a giant planer that uses sanding belts instead of blades

You could search around and see if someone has one locally that could run it through a few times and clean it up.
 
#6
Since it's already in place, and it's gonna be a bitch to move, taking it to a planer is likely out. It is a gorgeous piece of wood though.

I don't really like epoxy finishes unless I need a certain look, or I'm just filling checks. I always seem to spill or have leaks in my dam, but I may just not be very coordinated.

I tend to sand my workbenches just enough to take the rough edges off, then leave them. I think it adds character with all the hammer marks and oil spills. A dining table deserves a fine finish, but you don't drop wrenches on a dining table.
 
#8
I'd also go with the epoxy since it's already where it's going to be, and it will certainly preserve the roughness without sacrificing usefulness.

I couldn't find a 12 person dining room table for our beach house, but my wife found an old parochial school lunch table (covered in gum underneath) at a thrift store for $100. It was veneer, and I thought about making a dam and using epoxy, but I ended up just sanding it and refinishing it. I had it in my garage for a couple of months and would put a coat of urethane on it almost every day. The Finish I ended up with was very similar to the epoxy dam method, but took a hundred times as long. I'll bet the epoxy is toughter than the urethane too.

I can't find any pictures of it except the ones advertising the house online...
www.30ezvacationrentals.com

Cooper's Nest

This gulf front beauty on Cape San Blas has amazing views from an open-concept top floor with a huge living, dining, kitchen space that opens onto a fantastic deck. The house has 2 king master suites, a queen room, a double bunkroom & 3.5 baths (sleeps 10), an elevator, and a private saltwater pool.
www.30ezvacationrentals.com www.30ezvacationrentals.com

I have a butcher block top on my reloading bench with no finish on it at all. Really all you need is a smooth surface and something solid to bolt the press into.

Post pictures of the lengths of your lag bolts when you mount your press!
 
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#10
padom said:
Id rip those 2x4 out and make a solid base with 6x6 or 4x4 at a minimum for that thick ass top!! lol
Click to expand...
It'll be getting more bracing as i build shelves under it. There are currently 8 2x4s on vertical supporting it. Each end has a pair of legs for each beam shaped like this
_____
I II I
I II I
I II I

The center legs are attached to each other. I also plan on getting some L brackets and lagging it to the wall as well. I think the weight is supported fine. Just worried about it tipping out when I yank on the press handle.
 
#11
MinnesotaMulisha said:
Back in highschool, our wood shop had what was called a timesaver.

It's basically a giant planer that uses sanding belts instead of blades

You could search around and see if someone has one locally that could run it through a few times and clean it up.
Click to expand...

That would have been cool to do. But as I don't have any help these aren't gonna be moving much. 18" by 10' and over 300 pounds each. I'd be a tough job for anything short of full on lumber mill equipment I think.
 
#12
Fig said:
Post pictures of the lengths of your lag bolts when you mount your press!
Click to expand...

Beautiful house and table.

For the press I thinking of drilling 1/2" holes all the way through it. Then counterbore up from the bottom and inch or so with one of my forstner bits. Then epoxy in some nuts and fender washers. So that way the top will only have the 2 half in holes should I take the press off. I can then drop a standard 5" bolt down the hole and lock the press in place. Or a bench vise or whatever else i can think of.
 
#13
Munimula said:
Beautiful house and table.

For the press I thinking of drilling 1/2" holes all the way through it. Then counterbore up from the bottom and inch or so with one of my forstner bits. Then epoxy in some nuts and fender washers. So that way the top will only have the 2 half in holes should I take the press off. I can then drop a standard 5" bolt down the hole and lock the press in place. Or a bench vise or whatever else i can think of.
Click to expand...

While that will work and I did that many years ago, the Inline Fabrication QD mount is the best in the biz. I have 3 of them now, 1 on each of my 3 benches in my shop. I have 15-20 different presses, vices, barrel vice, concentricity gauge, trimmer, etc on QD plates. Swap them in and out in seconds.

They always run a sale for the holidays as well!

inlinefabrication.com

Quick change press mounting system. One mount, countless uses. – Inline Fabrication

Inline fabrication quick change reloading press system swap Redding Dillon Hornady rcbs Lyman
inlinefabrication.com
 
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#15
2aBaCa said:
At this point, sand and varnish it.
Click to expand...

The problem with the sand and varnish method is its a LOT of work and isnt anywhere near as tough as epoxy. I did the sand, stain, 5 coats of poly, sanding between each coat on all 3 of my oak top benches. So much work. Ill never do it again. Also, those beams are going to need a ton of prep work before varnish if you want a smooth, flat working surface. Plaining and lots of sanding to get it smooth before any varnish can be applied.

With the epoxy, you can make your mold around it very easily and quickly with 1/8 poly from McMaster or ebay or Amazon, mix and pour on your epoxy and done. You now have an insanely hard and heat resistant up to 600 degrees bench top which is smooth as glass and preserves the look of your wood.
 
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#17
padom said:
The problem with the sand and varnish method is its a LOT of work and isnt anywhere near as tough as epoxy. I did the sand, stain, 5 coats of poly, sanding between each coat on all 3 of my oak top benches. So much work. Ill never do it again. Also, those beams are going to need a ton of prep work before varnish if you want a smooth, flat working surface. Plaining and lots of sanding to get it smooth before any varnish can be applied.

With the epoxy, you can make your mold around it very easily and quickly with 1/8 poly from McMaster or ebay or Amazon, mix and pour on your epoxy and done. You now have an insanely hard and heat resistant up to 600 degrees bench top which is smooth as glass and preserves the look of your wood.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the better route and probably what I would have done.

Judging by the looks of things this is not a show piece in the center of the garage getting a ton of work done to it over weeks. He's already got it mounted and in place. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already got loading equipment setup on it.
 
#18
2aBaCa said:
Yes, that is the better route and probably what I would have done.

Judging by the looks of things this is not a show piece in the center of the garage getting a ton of work done to it over weeks. He's already got it mounted and in place. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already got loading equipment setup on it.
Click to expand...

Not just yet but soon.
 
#19
Is go with tung oil or linseed oil. It would preserve the character of the wood, scratches would be less evident than with an epoxy finish, and you can wipe on more oil when the finish begins looking a bit tired.
 
#20
Epoxy would be my suggestion.

You can also do some fun things with it. Like next to where you plan to put your loader(s), laminate in a paper sheet with blank spaces for load data. Before you start loading, you can use a dry erase marker to write down the days recipe.

Or laminate in some challenge coins, or old ammo box cardboard. The imagination runs wild!

fyi my benches are laminated with Minwax gloss poly urethane. 3 thick coats. Rugged and easily and clearly touched up. But on smooth wood to begin with. I used solid core Luann doors as My bench tops.

beautiful bench you built! I love the solidity and grandeur of it!!

sirhr
 
#21
Ok, you know you don’t want the plasticky look of epoxy despite its merits being chemically resistant.

Ok, you’re afraid of the time and work to finish it because you want to start using it.

But, here’s the deal. Those look like pine beams, old pine beams, heart pine beams. If they are, then you have gold.

As posted above, you can take them to nearly any wood shop and have em run through a sander or planer. In every case, unless you already planed the joint between the two beams, you’re going to take the bench apart. If the top is all good, then you need to flatten it. Hand plane or belt sander can work, but building a leveling sled for a router is the best and fastest approach.

Level it, sand it to 180 or so and go after it with ting oil. McCloskeys “gymseal” used for basketball court floors is excellent. Put in the hours and it will reward you forever.

A couple of observations

- use a tune oil and not a poly, use an in the wood finish and not an on the wood one because you can scuff sand a ting oil finish and recoat at any time. Not so with polyethyurethanes.

- other than epoxy, gun chemicals will pretty much ruin any wood finish. If this is just reloading, then no big deal. If general gunworking, then get some large cutting mats and work on them like you would work on a cutting board in the kitchen.

-No need to cover the whole surface, but if you do, consider stainless steel and not aluminum.
 
#28
So after much screws and lags the bench is secure and level.

1123191340.jpg


So this is the before. Lots of grey wood.

Picked up a new sander and 60 and 120 grit paper. And went to town.

So the front beam was flatter than the back. So it smoothed out more. It kinda looks perfect. A flatter smoother piece in the front where you will touch more often and the grey character on the back piece thats more likely to have shelves and boxes on it. It was also sanded to 120.

1123191613.jpg


So I think I'm gonna go with straight tung oil.
 
#33
Akaftermath said:
Nope, just a Glulam that was left in the weather for a year or more...and without testing, no longer code compliant for load as built.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Got it from a family friend that is the manager of a construction supply company. It was damaged in transit so they just used it to staple plastic sheeting to as a make shift shed for other product. Its probaly 10 years old but it was under an overpass. So no direct water on it.
 
#34
HuntDWind said:
Which ever you use, just remember you will have oil/cleaners that will stain you wood if you do not seal it good.
I know its a reloading bench...But I sometimes oil and clean my dies or presses on the same bench (too lazy to scoot over a few feet to the other bench ) ...

I like a polyurethane finish myself for this reason. Easy to clean.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input. I'll try to keep the strong stuff off of it. The beams were pretty beat up anyway so I guess it's not a show piece. But it's got a lot of character I guess youd call it.
 
#35
I would have suggested wood dowels rather than nails or screws at least on the top , but It looks like It's going to be a great work space anyway . would love to see pics after your all done .
 
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#36
acudaowner said:
I would have suggested wood dowels rather than nails or screws at least on the top , but It looks like It's going to be a great work space anyway . would love to see pics after your all done .
Click to expand...
I grew up doing woodworking with my dad. I think I would do that with a flatter less giant piece of wood. Maybe if I ever build another.

I have dreams someday of doing a redwood heart table top and pull out all the stops and do it traditional technique.
 
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