# What to do with 600 sq.ft. of reclaimed birch floor?



## joeboxer (Sep 16, 2008)

So I stumbled upon 600 sq.ft. of yellow birch floor in the dumpster the other day, and loaded it quickly into my van. If this floor previously belonged to you, I'm sorry - I'm keeping it. Old english rule ... "finder's keeper!"

That legality out of the way, what to do with it now? I've removed all the old style flooring nails out. The ones that looks like a sliver of metal. I think they are called cup floor nail. Easy enough (all reusable by the way, and easy to remove).

Now - what to do with these 2" wide planks of yellow hardwood birch flooring? The lenghts varies from mostly 2.5', 4', 6', and 8' length. These must have been at least 40 years old.

I need a router table, as well as a workbench, however. However, are these any good for those purpose?

Any good ideas welcome. Other scavengers, find your own heap!

Joe


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

First, I would send a bunch friends some wood 

You can use Birch for anything from toothpicks to furniture so just start making sawdust!


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## joeboxer (Sep 16, 2008)

I don't see the value of making sawdust.
But toothpick ... I can always use that.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Joe

Don't get in a rush  ,, find a corner in the shop and stack it up,,small boards will make big boards  in time you will say I wish I had some more of that stock..real wood is hard to come by..and it was free on top of that..


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joeboxer said:


> I don't see the value of making sawdust.
> But toothpick ... I can always use that.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

May I contribute my 2 cents worth?

I concur with my learned and scolarly friend, Nick. Send some to your new best buddies. PM me and I'll give you my address.

With the remainder, clean off the wax, dirt and finish. Make a birch version of a maple butcher block and use it as a workbench top. The birch should be hard enough to drill for holddowns. I wouldn't waste it on a router table top though. I'd use laminate-covered MDF for that. There I saved you a whole bunch. Just add it to the pile you're already sending.

Allthunbs


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Hi Joe,

I was thinking workbench top, but it looks like allthunbs beat me to the keyboard so I will just say +1 to his suggestion 

That stuff would make a great strong, flat and durable surface for that purpose.

Fantastic score on your part!


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Workbench would Be nice, I would like it at least 4'X8' butcher block type so How many board feet is that? I 'll figure it out and PM you later. I would imagine the down side of that stuff is pretty clear. I suppose it is tongue and groove so you will have to remove that. are most of the boards flat, not cupped, You have some fine find.


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## joeboxer (Sep 16, 2008)

I started sorting them.

Nice thing was, many were already marked so quite easy to sort. Mill Run, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade ...

All the 1st and 2nd grade boards were straight, and in excellent condition.

The Mill Run grade has some bowing, but nothing a little mechanical and/or chemical fastener can't correct.

The only question I have with workbench is the bottom channel of the boards, what to do with those?

The face is flat, and will definately need some sanding to get ride of the clear, scratches, and maintain truth.

I definately want to use the router on a jig to mill the finished surface flat.




xplorx4 said:


> Workbench would Be nice, I would like it at least 4'X8' butcher block type so How many board feet is that? I 'll figure it out and PM you later. I would imagine the down side of that stuff is pretty clear. I suppose it is tongue and groove so you will have to remove that. are most of the boards flat, not cupped, You have some fine find.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

joeboxer said:


> I started sorting them...
> Nice thing was, many were already marked so quite easy to sort. Mill Run, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade ...
> All the 1st and 2nd grade boards were straight, and in excellent condition.
> The Mill Run grade has some bowing, but nothing a little mechanical and/or chemical fastener can't correct.
> ...


Hi Joeboxer: the procedure in my mind would be: to joint off the tongue; slit off the groove side with the table saw, careful not to waste too much. That should leave you with about 1 1/4" in width. Plane the finished side; clean it all up; glue up in <=6" widths; plane smooth; glue up those blocks into the width you want; and cut to size with whatever you have. Drill for hold downs, round all the edges (1/8" or 3/16" round over) top and bottom and mount on your table.

Does this seem reasonable?

Allthunbs


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Hay Allthunbs that sounds great, now just to get joeboxer to send you the birch so you can get started on my work bench, cool.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Jerry: Howcum my neck always gets stuck out? I didn't volunteer, I only put an idea forward and everybody things I'm a volunteer. Geesh, you'd think this was the army or something where you _get_ volunteered!



Allthunbs


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## supershingler (Nov 8, 2008)

One thing i ran into on used flooring is not to plane of the finish with your surfacer. The wax finish will dull a blade faster then you know what.

You should find a stripper to take the finish off first and then you can plane away

just a word of caution

as for a project i vote for a workbench first and then let the imagination go from there.

Sometimes you can get leftovers and closeouts from your local hardwood flooring store and blend it in with your birch to create some unique projects

good luck

kendall


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## joeboxer (Sep 16, 2008)

Just added another 150 sq.ft. of Select grade Oak; in rather excellent condition. Hopefully I can pickup a drill press this weekend.

All I need to get a hold of now is a 6" jointer/planner of decent quality for $100.

You'd think the pending depression / resession / down turn / slow down / slump / morning after ... whatever CNN decides to call it next, that we'd have more tools up for sales a dismally great prices.

But food is still expensive, labor rate is still excessively high, and I'm the only one without a planer / jointer.


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## joeboxer (Sep 16, 2008)

Finally did something useful with all these recoverred hw birch and oak floor.

Built a large picture frame for some of the oil painting family sent to me from the motherland.

And guess what, I now am an owner of used tools.

Duracraft 15" Floor model Drill Press, 3/4 hp, 12 speed, built in 1980
- includes 20 mortising chisel, and adaptor head, base, and angle vise.
Beaver 6" Jointer - Model 3800, 52" bed, solid cast iron, 1hp induction motor, built in 1950
Delta 22-540 12" Planer (production date unconfirmed - guessing 1995ish).

Also have some quarter sawn lumber with the deal .. some 14" wide, full 2" thick, 12' long cedar boards, some mistry heavy hardwood board same length, but 10" wide, and 1.5" thick. All old local timber, been sitting in the barn for 40 years at least. I would say about 650 b.f. of quality wood.

Grand Total Spent: $500 CAD for all the above.

Jointer is rock solid, and true as the day it came out of factory. Blades don't need adjustment at all. In and Out beds are true, as per dial indicator, level, and square.
The 1hp induction motor spins like a top. If unloaded, will spin for hours after being shutoff. Very quiet motor. Mounted in a floating fashion, using its own weight as the tensioning agent.

DP needs belt replacement soon. Motor is currently wired to 110volt, but can be rewired to 220v. Another induction motor. I'm surprised.

The Delta planer ... that's the newest piece of equipment of the lot, and its ok. Doesn't have a lock, but the friction does a good job of keeping it in place, and has no problem doing its intended job. It does its job very well.

I absolutely love the jointer - its a gem to work with, and built like a mountain. I compared to other cast iron planer at Busy Bee, and other local hardware store, and they aren't built like this anymore.

Oh Oh, and I also got myself a free redial arm saw. An old Canadian made B&D 8" redial attached to a 8" work top. Well built, and well priced.

Now its time to clean up the room in the basement and convert it to a proper shop.
Guess I have all the tools required to build that work bench now!!!


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