Need advice on starting a flooring mill

[trees]

I am thinking of making flooring to sell. I have plenty of shop space and also time to spare in the winter. And a good knowledge of machinery operation and marketing as I own another unrelated business. Also have a nice local supply of oak,cherry,maple and other hardwood logs and a local bandsaw sawmill. A few questions for you.
What should I look for in a molding machine? Brands or sizes? I was told on another bullitin board that older machines sell for peanuts. True? Must the lumber be kiln dried or is airdried ok? How do I scale a log and get an idea of the number of board feet of finished flooring I can expect? Any thing else you think I should know or research?

Thanks for the help.
Steve

[Bibbyman]

Steve,

Barbara Gill saw, dries, mills and installs wood floors.  Check out her web site.

http://www.velvitoil.com/LaGrange.HTML

[CHARLIE]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum Steve!  I hope you stay and enjoy the friendship and wealth of information here.

I'm not a sawyer, logger or forester, but if I was running a business selling flooring and molding, I would use kiln dried just because the end product would be more consistant and have less movement.  I certainly don't want to get into a discussion on Kiln Dried Vs Air Dried, 'cause it's like talking politics or religion.

To get number of board feet in a log, look to the left of the screen and click on TOOLBOX. You should find some calculators that will help.

I don't have anything against old, good quality tools, if they work well and are pretty much maintenance free. If I were running a company making moldings, I certainly wouldn't want any downtime from breakdowns or just having to stop and oil bushing bearings. Buying something cheap might end up to be more expensive than buying new. I'd want something reliable with new technology and sealed roller or ball bearings.  I'd buy from someone in your area so if you need service, you can drive over to get the part or talk to them face to face. Take a look at RBI, Woodmaster, Woodfast, Delta, Jet, Grizzly and Belsaw.

[Ron Wenrich]

What type of wood flooring are you interested in making?  Are you going to do strip flooring or wide plank flooring?  I imagine the type of equipment needs differ from one market to the next.

Definitely want to go with KD.  Of the flooring and door mills that I have been in, they all used KD stock.  I know of one outfit which is just a father and son team.  They make flooring, do logging, milling and KD.  Keeps them very busy.

You will want to make your moldings out of the upper grades of wood.  These will give you long, clear strips of lumber.

For flooring, usually 2 and 3 Common is used.  The price is a lot less.  The pieces are shorter in length, but your yield should be pretty good.