Sycamore Flooring?

LOGDOG · May 31, 2011, 08:13:23 AM

I'm a big fan of those mixed floors myself. The contrast of the mixed woods actually seems to highlight the uniqueness of each individual species that much more.

scsmith42 · May 31, 2011, 09:45:44 AM

The secret to minimizing degrade on sycamore is as follows:

1 - get a high quality end sealer on the ends of the logs the same day that they are felled.

2 - mill the logs ASAP after felling, quartersawing as much if not all of the wood.

3 - DO NOT AIR DRY! Instead, get the boards into a low temperature kiln ASAP after milling.

When FF member Dad2nine and I have milled/dried QS Sycamore together, our degrade has been very low - probably less than 2%.

It helps if you do the felling and milling in the fall/winter/early spring too.

Dodgy Loner · May 31, 2011, 10:07:13 AM

Quote from: scsmith42 on May 31, 2011, 09:45:44 AM
It helps if you do the felling and milling in the fall/winter/early spring too.

But it's early summer and the Magicwoman is cracking the whip!

Magicman · June 03, 2011, 07:19:34 AM

I did a bit of looking

There is one 24"+ Sycamore that I can fairly easily harvest. It has vines and I can't see what length logs will be available. The other available Sycamores are in the 15" range which will not yield much QS.

After I get the roof on the Cabin Addition, I'll concentrate on the flooring logs.

hackberry jake · April 11, 2015, 10:14:52 AM

I am thinking about doing the same thing Magic. Did you ever follow through on the sycamore flooring? And how did it turn out?

tule peak timber · April 11, 2015, 11:20:44 AM

Never tried it for flooring , but I've done quite a bit as T&G wall paneling. Rob

WDH · April 11, 2015, 08:00:43 PM

Quartersawn sycamore flooring would be a dramatic statement. However, that would not be foreign to you, Sir, as you recently made a very dramatic statement on here.

PC-Urban-Sawyer · April 11, 2015, 08:02:26 PM

Quote from: WDH on April 11, 2015, 08:00:43 PM
Quartersawn sycamore flooring would be a dramatic statement. However, that would not be foreign to you, Sir, as you recently made a very dramatic statement on here.

Yes, but he did make a good point!

Herb

WDH · April 11, 2015, 08:07:37 PM

An excellent one, in my opinion :D.

GeneWengert-WoodDoc · April 12, 2015, 12:23:16 AM

A little technical info. The hardness of southern oka is 1060 pounds. Sycamore, 770 pounds. However, you might also ask "what hardness do I need?" Maybe 770 pounds is hard enough for a floor...I think that at 770 pounds, it is hard enough to serve well.

Magicman · April 12, 2015, 06:22:38 PM

Quote from: hackberry jake on April 11, 2015, 10:14:52 AM
I am thinking about doing the same thing Magic. Did you ever follow through on the sycamore flooring? And how did it turn out?

Actually I did not follow through on the Sycamore flooring. I used flat sawn SYP

1"X6" flat sawn non T&G SYP sub-flooring.

House wrap, and then various widths of T&G SYP.
Yes it is softer and easily dents, but it was available, quick, and this is "only" a Cabin.

Min-Wax Special Walnut stain and a coat of Poly. (camera lens fogged up)

WmFritz · April 12, 2015, 09:36:48 PM

Lynn, that turned out very nice. How did you fasten the planking?

Magicman · April 12, 2015, 09:59:47 PM

2½" 15 ga. finish nails randomly shot at an angle into the subflooring. Not blind through the tongue as normal but surface nailed.

WmFritz · April 12, 2015, 10:07:15 PM

They're 'hidden' well enough to my eyes. I like it.

Magicman · April 12, 2015, 10:14:33 PM

In the beginning I had a pattern going, but I abandoned it when I realized that the pattern could be easily seen. I could go back with a wood filler, but what the heck, it is "just a Cabin".

tule peak timber · April 13, 2015, 09:14:25 AM

Very nice looking !

Magicman · April 13, 2015, 09:40:16 AM

Thanks for the comments. When the sawing slacks off, I need to get back to my Cabin Addition that is waiting for me. The flooring on that project will be flat sawn Ash.

tule peak timber · April 13, 2015, 10:51:08 AM

Make sure to use your Biobore or other timber treatment to fend off powderpost beetles . Ash for me is the number one bug magnate !

Magicman · April 13, 2015, 03:33:52 PM

Thanks. I used Timbor which is what I sprayed on all of the SYP lumber that I used on the Cabin Addition.

tule peak timber · April 13, 2015, 03:54:47 PM

very good !

hackberry jake · April 14, 2015, 02:12:16 AM

I think hickory is my biggest bug magnet.

WDH · April 14, 2015, 07:11:42 AM

Mine is pecan, and pecan is a hickory, so mine must be hickory, too ;D.

Magicman · April 14, 2015, 08:30:12 AM

So it must be the Devil and his Wife? ???

Deese · April 14, 2015, 09:34:08 AM

Quote from: Magicman on April 14, 2015, 08:30:12 AM
So it must be the Devil and his Wife? ???

Good one :D

hackberry jake · April 14, 2015, 11:14:05 PM

What flooring dimensions would be the most stable? Longer or shorter? Wide or narrow? I have made flooring once and we kept all the lengths 4' and shorter. This made machining much easier, but would it give the flooring too much leverage if it decided to move?