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suppose a fellow wanted to make...... flooring

Started by two saw, April 03, 2007, 06:58:09 PM

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two saw

I was thinking of trying my hand at oak flooring to sell on the housing market.
Anyone out there doing this?
What are all the steps involved in sawing, planing, T&Ging, finishing, and then marketing the flooring.

Is there a machine that sizes, planes,and t&g the blanks all at the same time.

Still looking for that illusive market void to fill.

Thanks a bunch,
           Dan.

D&L TS 36 DTH twin saw

beenthere

We have a sponsor, Bailey's there on the left column, with a four-head moulder that will make flooring as well as other mouldings in a single pass. Sizing ahead of the moulder is needed.

http://www.baileys-online.com/planer-moulder.htm
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Ianab

If you want to go above that then you can get a 6head planer / moulder.

http://www.weinigusa.com/products/moulders/main.htm

But then you are getting into some serious $$
One of my computer clients runs a big Weinig producing architectural mouldings and weatherboards, but they generally have about 5 guys (x 2 shifts) working the machine, feeding / stacking / quality control / driving the forklift etc. The thing probably has 20hp on the chip collector  :D

On a smaller scale Bailey's 4 head planer / moulder is a better option, and 2 guys to run it  :)

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Furby

Quote from: two saw on April 03, 2007, 06:58:09 PM
What are all the steps involved in sawing, planing, T&Ging, finishing, and then marketing the flooring.

Don't forget drying the lumber and what do you mean when you say "finishing"?

two saw

well, when I say finished I guess I mean a finish coat of something so that the floor is ready to be put in place at a customers home or office.
I don't have a kiln but a fellow not too far from me has three he uses to dry lumber for others.
Does the flooring need to be sanded after the planer moulder. Wouldn't that make it more difficult to keep them all the same dimension?
I know some sell prefinished and that I guess would be another option.
I have a lot of experience building and remoldeling and thought I could do the installs myself.
just a thought.
seems like sometimes I can not shut off my thinker.
don't know if that is good or bad. ;D
D&L TS 36 DTH twin saw

Furby

Sounds like you are asking for trouble if you are going to try and apply a finish on each piece before installation.
Need a lot of dust free drying space, and you need to make sure not to get any build up on the edges that will stop the boards from fitting together.
The big boys use dryers to speed things up.

You'll probly need to sand each piece between coats as well.

Handy Andy

  I've installed both prefinished and unfinished flooring.  The prefinished needs to have a tiny chamfer around the edges so you can't see the unevenness of the floor.  Unfinished is sanded on the floor and finished as a floor, can be stained for a certain color if desired. There are other flooring makers on this forum, the fellow I bought my mill from is a flooring maker, he is known as Horselogger on this forum.  By the time you log the trees and saw and dry them, then straight line and rip to rough width, run them through the molder and bundle them up, you'll be ready to call it a day.  Let someone else install the floors.  Jim
My name's Jim, I like wood.

fireman05

I currently produce flooring as one of my products that I sell.  I am probably more involved in the process than most care to be.

I begin with obtaining stumpage and harvesting the sawlogs.  I keep only the grade material that I saw into flooring, moulding and paneling on my Woodmizer LT30.  From there It goes into a Nyle L200 DH kiln to dry for approximately 30 days or less.  Out of the kiln, I then re-saw the material on the Wood Mizer for what I intend to utilize it for.  For flooring, I prefer to have it straight on both edges to ensure a straight product coming out of the moulder.  Next, it goes into the shop to be run through the Logosol PH260 single phase 4 head moulder to be processed into unfinished flooring.  This unit I did purchase from Bailey's and have been very satisfied with the sales/service from them.  Lee Lawson has been a great help whenever I call for advice.  The single phase unit is a bit underpowered at times but without getting into a phase converter and all it was my best option.

I sell unfinished clear grade oak flooring for $2.75/sq. ft. and rustic grade, which has tight knots for $2.25/sq. ft.  I haven't needed to advertise much as word of mouth advertising has kept me as busy as I need to be as a one person operation! 8)

Good luck and I hope this info helps!
Wood Mizer LT40G Manual, Nyle L200 kiln, Logosol PH260 Moulder, Kubota L4300 with Farmi winch

two saw

Thanks for the help everyone
I wish I had the green backs for the PH 260. I bet it is a good investment.
But i don't have the money for a kiln right now.
Would also be beneficial to have a gang rip saw to saw everything into the same sizes.
A lot more money that I just do not have right now.
Fireman05 I might pm you and ask some more questions.
I would like to see your operation but you are a little far away form me.
D&L TS 36 DTH twin saw

HappyDay

I've run some flooring.  I found that the moulder was just the start of the equipment needs.  A straight line rip - or a gang rip - like you mentioned sure seems the way to go.  The biggest obstacle I run into is that it seems like 90% of the installers want the flooring end milled.

It can be done on a shaper or with a radial arm saw set up as moulder, but it's a lot of work, especially if you are trying to eat up common grade lumber and thus have shorter pieces.


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