Finish on Your Workbench?

My Roubo workbench does not have finish on it. It has some tearout on the top. There are hide glue stains, shellac stains, chisel marks, errant auger bits holes, small saw kerfs, and even a few drops of blood. That is the finish I put on it. It is a badge of honor that this bench I worked for so long on is doing it’s job day in and day out.

So I’m putting Arm-R-Seal on my new bowsaw the other day and I poured a bit into a separate container. A little too much as I had a lot leftover. I can’t pour it back into the can as I might contaminate what is in there. So I start looking around the shop with a “what can I rub this on” question in my mind.

That saw til has only 2 coats of shellac on it, why not toughen it up with a wipe down of Varnish. Y’know the Cocobolo fence on my low profile bench hook would look good with some varnish.

Dang I still have some finish leftover. Maybe I’ll put it on the leg vise chop.

Wow does that Ash glow and it highlights the little saw kerfs on top where I cut into it while dovetailing. Maybe I should finish the bench after all.

Is anybody else an “opportunistic finisher”?

***Varnish is probably not the best choice but you get the point***