flooring for the barn

[redoak]

Hi All,

Did some milling today. These logs are from two beautiful white pines I dropped for a friend of mine in the spring. Forest grown, 24" DBH, 40' to the first live branch, they look like they were turned on god's own lathe. I milled out 19 1.5" boards 10 feet long. Live sawn they averaged 18"+ for the lot. Almost too beautiful to use in a barn, but this one is special. Timber framed all milled with the CSM. I'll have some pictures of that after the raising in November.

Today was just three logs out of some 10 between the two trees. I'll be back for the rest!

Anyway, here are some pics.

-redoak

 

[wdanforth]

Nice boards. That should be some barn. Please post a picture play by play of the build.

Thanks

 

[deeker]

Nice boards. That should be some barn. Please post a picture play by play of the build.

Thanks

+1

 

[A. Stanton]

Those planks look nice. How do you plan on keeping em from cupping while they dry?

 

[redoak]

Drying will be easy for these boards: face nailed to the joists! I know, they are really too nice for such rough treatment.

-redoak

 

[woodshop]

Drying will be easy for these boards: face nailed to the joists! I know, they are really too nice for such rough treatment.

-redoak

My thoughts also... too nice... but hey, it's wood and you're using it, which is fine. I cringe almost every time I have to cut a long clear board into smaller lengths for something, but that's the nature of the beast. I do go out of my way to use up shorter boards before cutting up larger ones, but if you're making a piece of furniture, you want the wood to all match, so best to come out of the same boards or at least tree if you can.

BEAUTIFUL log and boards... very very nice. Thanks for posting.

 

[Backwoods]

Ahh but what a nice floor they will make.

I just installed a floor in my barn a couple of weeks ago and used some wide Doug-fir on top of 6x6’s. It is so comfy out there now that I almost want to move in myself. (I think my wife wants me to as well)

I have a habit of looking over the old barns that are still standing, and came across a real nice old dairy barn that had some 24” wide boards that they had used for the floor and for the walls of tack and feed rooms inside the barn. Sure is nice to see some of the wood the old timers cut.

The story of the barn is that a sawmill was set up in the draw above the barn where a stand of old growth was and all the wood for the big old barn was cut from that one draw. The mill was a round saw.

Build the barn to last and that floor will tell many a story.

 

[deeker]

When we install boards for flooring, we score down the length on the underside about a quarter inch with a table saw for relief cuts. Depending on the boards width we add more stress relief cuts. Works with board and batten also.

T&G also, when possible. But I don't have that type of equipment for production yet.

Keep us posted.

Kevin

 

[Zodiac45]

Drying will be easy for these boards: face nailed to the joists! I know, they are really too nice for such rough treatment.

-redoak

Oh yep, when the need is there, ya gots too use them.

 

[Mike Van]

Oak floor I put in our family room 10 years ago. Stuff I sawed, some are 20" wide. T&G on edges & ends, screwed down & plugged. It was air dried 4 years when installled, the 20 inchers will move 3/8" or so from Feb. to Aug.

 

[dustytools]

Very nice! Im looking forward to pics of the finished floor.

 

[chainsaw1]

I like your floor, i have also been thinking of getting into milling and doing a floor in my house. The only thing that i have though so far for milling is the saw.

 

[goblin]

I like your floor, i have also been thinking of getting into milling and doing a floor in my house. The only thing that i have though so far for milling is the saw.

You can make wood flooring with a chainsaw mill and a skilsaw. A tablesaw and a router are also helpful for making T&G flooring, but that's really all that is required. The slabs from the chainsaw mill don't even really need to be surfaced prior to installation, since the entire floor gets sanded with a floor sander prior to being stained and finished anyways. So what if there are a few 'irregularities'? That's what makes the floor unique. Besides, people are paying big bucks for the 'distressed' look...even more than for the 'elegant' wood floor look.

 

[Mike Van]

I don't know how accurate a CSM is, never used one. I'd guess though, to make flooring you'll need a good planer too. My floor was never sanded, all the lumber went through my planer, an SCMI that'll eat oak till the cows come home. I used two different routers, one for the grove & one for the tounge. Once setup, you don't change anything, always do the board good side up, every one will fit & lay flat [as long as the subfloor is] Without a planer, you could be in for hours & hours of sanding, and that job sucks.

 

[slabmaster]

csms are more acurate than bandmills and if the chain is sharpened right,leaves a better finish as well.

 

[Wismer]

csms are more acurate than bandmills and if the chain is sharpened right,leaves a better finish as well.

!

 

[woodshop]

csms are more acurate than bandmills and if the chain is sharpened right,leaves a better finish as well.

Slabmaster would you define "more accurate" for us please? Do you mean a csm will mill a flatter board than a bandmill? ...do you mean the thickness won't vary as much in that board as a bandmilled board would?

 

[Backwoods]

Or is it vise-a-versa.
I have yet to see a chainsaw cut that was as smooth as a bandmill and a well-tuned bandmill will cut to with in .005 in a 12” wide cut 12’ long consistently. Kinda hard to be more accurate then that.

 

[johncinco]

csms are more acurate than bandmills and if the chain is sharpened right,leaves a better finish as well.

Yer stoned, or havent been watching bandmills set up properly. I can show you plenty of timber cut on a bandmill that has than 1/64 difference in any place in the whole board in thickness, and a finish that only needs some sanding to put into place. A good band, sharpened, tensioned, and a flat bed your cutting on and you'll have fine timber.

I have taken down a couple barns, and have always been amazed at some of the dimensions and condition of the lumber. But I guess if thats what they had on hand, it was put to use one way or another. I bought a house for a rental a couple years back that had a full attic, covered in 1 1/2 CHERRY. I tore it all out, put back in plywood, and made a nice bit of money. Made some happy furniture builders too. Guess thats what came off the wagon that day!

 

[Brmorgan]

I haven't used a bandmill much, but after using a shop bandsaw a lot, I'm of the opinion that those who say a bandmill cannot be as accurate as a CSM just don't know how to set one up properly. I had a friend who was always griping that his bandsaw was wandering and wouldn't cut straight, so I went over and set up his tension and guides properly and he's been happy ever since. And of course there are those log salvage companies around the Great Lakes that salvage valuable old-growth logs (bird's-eye maple etc.) from underwater and resaw them into extremely thin veneers - and they use bandsaws.

I'm with Mike too - you may not HAVE to use a planer before installing flooring, but let me know after a couple days on your hands and knees eating dust with a belt sander whether you'd have rather used one or not. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to wood being square and flat though; when I make my kitchen flooring next year I'll be facing it on the jointer to get it perfectly flat, and then T&G on the router table. The extra time is worth it IMO, as the straighter and flatter it is, the easier it will be to install.