Plank flooring

[scsmith42]

Raphael - you're welcome!

ps - maze also sells the "antique looking" square nails.

If you want a square nail with a raised head to protrude from the floor, talk to a farrier and get some horse shoeing nails for a draft horse.  It's difficult to describe the head; the closest that I can come is that it looks kinda like a hip roof on a rectangular house.

[bman]

Thanks Jim; In response to your questions let me give a little detail. The planks were cut with a chainsaw mill and are not all the same width, I cut them 25' long so as to span the width of the house with one board thereby allowing variouse widths to be used without issues of matching but end widths. The planks are not planned on either side, the plan being to install as is and sand smooth. I was very careful to set up each cut to the exact thickness so they are very consistent that way. Some boards have wane on one edge, some have a little "run out" on one edge and as such will need to be trimmed straight. Your suggestion about the table saw/dado sounds good , just not sure how difficult it might be with the length of the planks. I had thought if there is a method to run a saw/router along the board rather than vice versa it might be easier. The loft planks are much thicker, I think I stated in error they were 1.5", actualy they are 1.75" thick, cut the same way as the 1' stuff, 25' long and all the more cumbersome to handle. My original thought was to snap a chalk line on any edge that was less that straight and use a steel straight edge and skill saw to edge em straight. Once I get one good edge I can use a fence attachement on the skill saw and trim the other edge if neccessary and then on to cuttin the ship lap or T&G or whatever arrangement I use to join the edges. Does any of that sound good or am I headed for heartburn ? Suggestions, comments

[Jim_Rogers]

bman:
If you have a table saw, it could work if you create some saw horses with rollers on top to support the infeed and outfeed sides of the saw. Also add a long piece of wood for a fence. The longer the stock the longer the fence should/could be. The longer fence will help you keep things straight.

If you do use the skill saw and straighten your boards that way, that would work ok.
If you wanted to use a router with a bit and a router fence you could run that down one edge creating the rabbit for the lap but that will reference off one face and if that face isn't smooth then it could create a rabbit of different depths.
You could turn your boards up on edge once straightened and then run the router down the edge but that will be a little more difficult to hold the router truly straight up. Unless you clamp several boards together to get a wide base for the router to ride on.....

Good luck.

Jim Rogers

[Raphael]

I've straightened 2x framing material using a combined approach, skillsaw to cut the first side and then run it through the table saw to get it to working width.  The only thing different from Jim's suggestion is that I'm the infeed table and my wife is the outfeed table. 

[woodbowl]

My original Idea was to blind nail the floor in place and then go back and face nail it with "antique" square nails at my leasure.
Any suggestions on the size/type of finish nail I can blind nail with and reasonably expect the planking to hold until I add these face nails?

If you want a square nail with a raised head to protrude from the floor, talk to a farrier and get some horse shoeing nails for a draft horse.

I was thinking of a rectanglar head, blount tip, taperd shank concrete nail. I'm wondering if they have enough grip though, over the long haul.

[Raphael]

I was thinking of a rectanglar head, blount tip, taperd shank concrete nail. I'm wondering if they have enough grip though, over the long haul.

That's the antique looking sort of nail Scott mentioned was available at Maze, they are manufactured by Tremont Nails.
If you can use 50lbs Maze has got a heck of a good price.  They are supposed to have better holding strength than hardened wire nails, and I've had better luck with not fracturing the heads off when driving them.  They should work for face nailing flooring to timber as well, they are basically a hardened cut nail.

I just ordered my size 16 antique cut nails directly from Tremont; 20lbs. (680nails) for $99.71 shipped, the Maze price on 50lbs. of hardened nails is ~$129 plus shipping so if you can use them it's the way to go.