Machining up old floorboards suggestions

[fluffflinger]

Sometime ago I acquired, for the princely sum of my labour to load and unload plus £40 in diesel 3,200 linear feet of 100 plus year old pine floorboards from the demolition of an old factory. Well to be accurate they are not floorboards but 16ft roof boards, good news is that they only had 8 nails a board (yes I de-nailed all 200 of the little fellas).

Now I want to use them as flooring in my early Victorian Stone Cottage and the small sections I've cleaned up and oiled look great (will start another thread on finishing when I get done with the surface preparation).

The boards are T&G with a bevel on the painted side (did I not mention that they are painted on one side?) So my dilemma is how to prepare the reverse side to a finished standard as it dirty and discoloured. Also should I remove all the old paint from what will be the underside? Not many of the boards are cupped but I would prefer them to be able to breathe all around.

My choices are wreck a set of blades or two on the surface planer (I have a cheapo benchtop model) run them through my thicknesser (DW733) and have the blades resharpened a time of two or build a drum sander (simple version based on an old Nu-tool lathe that lies gathering dust under a bench) load it up with 40 grit and let rip.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. I want to get this job done soon I can so as to get them inside acclimatising before laying in the Autumn. I know you will all think I'm mad but I relish the challenge and I'm a great believer in a "2nd life" for any timber as this stuff was destined to be dumped. Plus they are after all lovely bits of very old pine!!!

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

well the wood sounds lovely...I too like to reclaim and have done many over the years. I always use the thicknesser and expect to replace or resharpen the blades at the end of the job. If the boards aren't too cupped that's a great and quick method. If they are a little cupped...keep them pressed flat on the infeed so they squeeze under the infeed roller.

Maybe post some pics?

 

[Jacob]

The back of the boards is likely to be the worst face - with pith and long radial knots.
Under the paint there is likely to be a very attractive clean surface, aged to a nice shade of light brown. I'd look at getting the paint off but NOT with caustic soda as its too destructive. Instead use hot air gun, paint stripper, and clean up with sugar soap. Then instead of planing off the attractive surface trim off the T&G and V and fit them plain butted.
But if you do go for planing off the paint do it with a deep cut so the blades are mostly in clean wood. Same principle as scrub planing - cutting through the paint, not along it which would blunt the blade very quickly.

 

[fluffflinger]

Thanks guys.

I am favouring the thicknesser as it feeds itself and the blades only cost me 23p an inch to sharpen plus I have a mountain to do and I'm time poor right now.

Appreciate the tip on depth of cut Jacob I probably would have been more timid. I have stripped a few boards and thus far there is little in it quality wise one side from the other. If possible I'll use the reverse as the boards aren't that wide and I don't want to lose a 1/2in trimming off the v.

Had thought about cleaning off the worst of the paint and gunk with a electric hand planer but I think I'll set up the thicknesser this weekend buzz a few through and see what gives.

If anybody else has any further ideas that might save me or my machinery please jump in!

 

[dickm]

Not much help if you don't have/can't borrow one, but Makita do a powered brush which takes wire or plastic brushes and is excellent for cleaning off the rough from floorboards. I did some 20m2 of reclaimed maple from a mill in Dundee prior to running it through the thicknesser and it saved a lot of wear on the blades.
Oh, yes, also don't forget to wear some respiratory protection while working on the boards. Lord knows what may be embedded in them.

 

[fluffflinger]

Thanks Dick. The thicknesser will be hooked up to the cyclone and dust collector and I always wear a a P3 mask when machining anything. I was wondering about what was in the paint when I first considered the deal.

Can't find any info on this Makita powered brush do you have a model number or a link?

 

[Steve1066]

I did a job many years a go with old reclaimed oak from a barn at the time I did no have access to a thicknesses so I just laid the boards then sanded with a floor sander. Finished with a liquid flor wax.
The board came up lovey and the customer was very happy.

 

[dickm]

Can't find any info on this Makita powered brush do you have a model number or a link?

Mine says it's a 9741. It's the 110 volt version, so a 250V one may be a different number.
If you were anywhere near, you'd be welcome to borrow it, but getting it to you from Aberdeenshire would probably cost a packet.