Reclaimed wood floors - too much trouble?

[Kodakjello]

Hey everyone,

I've just stumbled across a great opportunity . I've found old 2"X20" hemlock boards that come from a 100 year old house. I'm trying to figure out if it's worth purchasing them (there's only 20 of them and they are 7 feet long) and turning them into flooring. I was hoping someone here had some experience with reclaimed wood flooring. Namely, is it possible to cut the 2" boards into thinner boards, say 5/8" or 1/2" to get more sq ft out of them?

Thanks!

Kodakjello

[Zero_Punch]

Worked on a house where they added a family room to a old house they tried to use as much salvage materials as they could to match the old stuff. Used brick Popular flooring 2x they ripped it down to 10 12 in boards ran it through a planer and shiplapped it. It looked alright, they were happy.

[desdawg]

Cutting a 2" X 20" board in half widthwise isn't something most people are equipped to do. If you know someone with a bandsaw mill you might get it done. Even then the planks would have to be real straight with no cupping or twisting. Sounds pretty tricky.

[glenn-k]

I'm with desdawg.  I don't think you would get two even boards our of one.  It's sometimes hard to get them even when you cut them the first time - dull blades - knots etc.

[Amanda_931]

But if it would look absolutely great....

If I found some more old flooring, I might think about doing a pattern in the floor--those pretty short pieces around the outside edge, the rest in the center, etc.

Leave them at 20" wide less tongue and groove or half lap, then sand in place?

[Kodakjello]

Ah, so a band saw would be the tool of choice if one was to cut these planks in half. I guess I was being a bit too optimistic in cutting the boards...now that I think of it I'd probably have a hard time cutting a new 2x12 in half due to the quality of the boards these days. Now that I think of it, it might be simpler to simple plane the boards down to 1 1/2" thickness then install them. I can sand and seal them later. Good suggestion Amanda.

I guess 220 sqft of reclaimed flooring would still be useful for the office/library. I was hoping to stretch it though  

[John_C]

The first thing that comes to my mind is whether the wood has some distinguishing characteristics you would want to keep/preserve.  Patina, use or distress marks etc.  A lot of times these are what makes old wood very desirable. Cutting or planning would remove it.

While a bandsaw would be the tool, one with a 20" throat would be a BIG boy.  When I built boats we had one with a 14" or 16" throat.  It had 36" diameter wheels .... I think it had a 7 hp. motor that ran on 440v triple phase power.  The blades were very pricey even 30 years ago.  People with saws like that often don't want to cut old wood because it's easy to overlook the odd nail or other foreign object that would quickly do $$ damage to the blade.  Also keep in mind that blades that size have a large kerf.  Under the best of circumstances if you could resaw a 20" wide board that was a full 2" thick and net two finished boards 3/4" thick, it would be a job well done.  

The same could be said for a planer.  Carbide knives for a 24" planer probably cost $250 and up to get resharpened, not including the down time.

About 10 years ago I took apart part of an old barn that was scheduled to be torn down or burned.  It had 5/4" oak siding.  The stuff was very heavy and very hard.  I used it to build a barn wall set for my photography studio.  I had one or two boards left over and ran them through a planer.  The result was boards that didn't look any different than what I could have bought at HD.  They lost all the weathering that made them special. Old wood is pretty but it might be best to try to use it with as little reshaping as possible.  I can think of lots of uses for good looking boards that size.

[Kodakjello]

That's an interesting note about the planer and band saw. I figured that there were just machines that could handle 20" boards but I guess that would be pretty exceptional.

Actually, I've been doing some research on Black Locust  [smiley=thumbup.gif] so I might ust go that route. Probably cheaper and less hassle in the long run, especially if sanding and planing removes most of the character (aside from graining)

[MountainDon]

A slightly tenuous connection to this current topic, but quite there's an interesting story, as well as being a genuine antique used flooring source.

http://www.thesolar.biz/Reclaimed_Wood_flooring.htm

[John_C]

Kodakjello,
  I wrote my response above on my way out the door this morning based on (very) old experience. All day I thought I might have spoken too quickly so I just did a search on Harbor Freight and relatively large machines are cheaper than I thought they would be.

A 17" bandsaw .....  Capacities: 16-1/4'' (width), 14-5/8'' (rip)    $799.00
  Planer.....    Stock capacity 6-1/4" x 15"    $749.00

These are the largest machines of their types that Harbor Freight has and neither would handle your 20" boards, but they are much cheaper than I thought machines of their size would be.

The tools I found that would do it are still cheaper than I thought they would be but probably still not homeowner type stuff.
24"  Bandsaw $4,200    http://www.minimax-usa.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=6&flypage=shop.flypage_norm&product_id=20&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26

24" Planer  $3,795   http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G5851Z-24-Planer-Single-Phase/dp/B0000DD4LS

I know you didn't want to buy the machines but the price /size of these means your not likely to have a bowling buddy with access to one.
I still think most professionals won't want to risk the down time and expense if they hit a nail in old wood.  Maybe PEG will chime in here.

Black Locust.   Where did you find that.  It used to be highly prized for fence posts.  Rot resistant and very hard.  If it's nice stuff and you think it will be stable it would be a better wearing floor than hemlock.

If the hemlock is pretty it may well have other uses.  

Let us know how it goes.

[Kodakjello]

Those are some pretty big numbers John, I might just make a few harvest tables instead  

Black Locust is supposed to be a great flooring material....once you get it down (it's very hard). I was reading a DIY book from the 70's and the author mentioned that they used Black Locust for an entry way. He said it was absolutely bulletproof. I think that might be worth the trouble since the colour and graining of Black Locust is supposed to be very appealing.

Kodakjello

[John_C]

I remember Black Locust being used for fence posts & rails and for making carver's mallets and other striking tools.  It's a good bit harder than oak with much less propensity to split.  The stuff I saw all looked like a weathered split cedar fence post.... it was very hard to get an idea of the grain or color.  The standing trees I remember were all too small to yield flooring but it had been well picked over for fences.
I have no doubt it would make a durable floor.

Got any pics of the stuff?


A bit off topic, but when I lived in the FL Keys you could find the odd piece of Ironwood.  It is one of the very few woods so dense it won't float.  Shaping it would test your tool sharpening skills. It has so much natural oil that burnishing it is the best way to finish it.  Lignum Vitae was nearly as hard. These were very small trees/bushes.  The wood was mostly prized for sculptures.

[Kodakjello]

Here are two pictures of Black Locust flooring with just a nice polish. I think it looks similar to Maple or Elm but apparently it has a nive deep golden colour when viewed on an angle.




I'll see if I can dig up some more information on it.

[MountainDon]

24" bandsaw  $2399.00
http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=959-578&CARTID=200705197998319081--1

[peg_688]

 Nice saws Mtn . D best one I've used was a Hatichi CB75 F ,

 

Hitachi CB75F 15 Amp 14-1/2-Inch Resaw Woodworking Band Saw with Guide Blocks, 115-Volt 1 Phase
Other products by Hitachi
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I think ripping them into 2x6 or maybe cutting the planks first into three EQ. rips then resawing might be better. But it sounds like you've figgered something out anyway.  


 

[MountainDon]

Woodworker Supply had a customer appreciation day today. Saw that 24" saw there. They're made in China, but Woodworker's been selling them under the Woodtek name for more years than I can recall. I've had one of their drill presses for years. Works well, no problems

[cecilia]

At The Duckpond, Jonni and I are so happy with our reclaimed messmate flooring which we have right through the upstairs.

We love the imperfections, gum vein, bug holes etc., and didn't want to lose them when we put a finish on the floor. We used tung oil with an added resin, which we applied with a sheepskin applicator. Two coats gave the floor a fabulous satin lustre which showed all the grain.

You can see the floor on http://www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond/emerginghouse43.htm

The floor was nailed down with a 'secret nailer' nail gun and is very easy to keep clean. We have the same finish on the stairs and they get quite a bit of traffic.

cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond

[glenn-k]

Nice to hear from you again, Cecilia.  You and Jonni really did a nice job.  Was that re-sawn also?

[littledog]

Just thought I would chime in here too.  In the "Homework" book there was a guy who made his floor by placing 2x4s on their sides.  You could possibly rip the boards that way and line them up side by side.  Not a great use of old boards but still feasable.  Anyway, just a thought.  

[cecilia]

Well Glenn, the term which was used was 're-machined', whatever that means (Jonesy may know).

The boards had reputedly been cut from the structural timbers of the old Melbourne Cricket Club's member's stand. When that was built, timber with gum vein etc. was not well thought of, so it was used where it wasn't going to be seen.

Will pop back in a day or two with photos of our new bed - made from gum tree branches.

cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au

[glenn-k]

Sounds great Cecilia.  

Funny how things change.  Years ago fine woodworking meant sanding everything smooth and filling all the holes - etc.

Now even the fancy restaurants want rough sawn trim.  I even noticed it was shot on with a 1/4 crown stapler and not filled.

[Amanda_931]

Looking forward to seeing more from Duck Pond.