Results of sealing an MFT top?

[alanz]

Bill,

I put a wash coat of shellac on my MFT/3 a few years ago... seems to work well.

And not surprisingly, (you know me...) I made a small tweak to my MTF/3 setup.

Because I tend to do things differently than many other folk, I mount the angle unit and fence on the near side of the table rather than the more typical far side.  I did have to mill a notch in the 'other end' of the fence to match the original notch that typically slides under the guide rail when used on the far side.

 

[alanz]

Kev said

From a different perspective, I would personally want to avoid spraying moisture generally, not just the MFT surface. Can't you shroud the lathe in some way?

If you've ever watched Bill G. at the lathe, although he doesn't control water spray coming off of the wood, his turning style is more like target practice... he aims the wet shavings EXACTLY where you're standing, and there's no escape!  

Then again, maybe he just does that when I'm watching < s >

 

[BillG]

You guys with the pristine MFT tops are damaging to my psyche [scared]

If it is set up outside and it rains, it gets wet. If it rains really hard, it gets really wet. If inside was an option under a cloudy sky it was an option under a sunny sky.

If I happen to have my sander out, I sand it. The only place it really gets 'the swells' is near cuts so I sand them back down, no big deal.

If I happen to spill stain on it, I wipe up the stain. What don't come up, don't come up adding to its 'professional patina'

If I happen to be using shellac or poly, since I don't ever return anything back to the can, I just use what would be 'waste' on the top.

Remember it is a WORKTOP, not a china cabinet!

Harry, if you could see the rest of my shop, you would realize I am not worried about appearance, only function. 

Kev said

From a different perspective, I would personally want to avoid spraying moisture generally, not just the MFT surface. Can't you shroud the lathe in some way?

If you've ever watched Bill G. at the lathe, although he doesn't control water spray coming off of the wood, his turning style is more like target practice... he aims the wet shavings EXACTLY where you're standing, and there's no escape!  

Then again, maybe he just does that when I'm watching < s >

Yeah, it is hard to contain the shavings from that gouge without putting the whole lathe and myself in a bubble, and that ain't gonna work.  I don't mind the top getting dinged and dirty, I just don't want it swelling up like a tick while I am making shavings.  So far that drop cloth seems to be working out well.  I just got back from some "target practice" with shavings up in northern PA, and the one piece of wood I turned was so wet I could have used a windshield wiper on my helmet.  [blink]