Thicknesser for floorboards

[Yukster]

Let's not forget the need for a dust extractor (not a vacuum cleaner) with any thicknesser. These tools kick out a huge amount of chips and (with old boards) dust as well.

I've got a festool CTL midi dust extractor. Will it do?

Personally if it were me I'd consider hiring an industrial belt sander and sanding the boards in-situ, with a 3in belt sander and a delta orbital sander to handle the margins. With a 40 grit belt there is little you can't take out. BTW, these also need a dust extractor (preferably an industrial vac for the floor sander - for the smaller tools a domestic vac will probably suffice)

I've got a makita 9403 belt sander and a good dewalt orbital sander already. I could sand the floorboards in situ as you suggest or plane them with the thiknesser and then lay them. My thinking was that it might be easier to get a more even finish with a thiknesser. Plus its less hard work. It might be 6 of one and half a dosen of the other. Any further thoughts would be welcome.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

How about the Makita 2012NB thicknesser? It's not the cheapest but it looks like it might do a good job and can be plugged into the domestic electrical supply. Is this a good option?

I've been using one on and off for about 4 years now, mainly on oak or ash jobs. Robust little beast, but the amount of waste it is capable of throwing out means that it will quickly overwhelm a smaller industrial vacuum cleaner. Best run at 1 to 1.5mm cuts, not maximum depth as the motor isn't the most powerful (but typical size for this type of lunch box thicknesser). Very noisy due to the universal motor, so you'd need to use during the daytime unless you have no neighbours! Needs the leg stand and at least one ball/roller stand for safe usage on long pieces like floor boards

I've got a festool CTL midi dust extractor. Will it do?

On its' own I doubt it. The 2012NBX I have can overwhelm my Metabo ASR2025 with shavings quite quickly, even with the 50mm hose set fitted - the standard 35mm hose just clogs completely. It's OK for smaller runs, but for any volume the bag fills up in no time flat. I've had to hire a cyclone extractor a few times - so I'm now investigating an Oneida Dust Depity DIY mounted on top of a dust bin to give me a better solution. It's just that I hate having to stop after every 2 or maybe 3 boards to empty the dust bag.

I've got a makita 9403 belt sander and a good dewalt orbital sander already. I could sand the floorboards in situ as you suggest or plane them with the thiknesser and then lay them.

I've tried resanding a floor in the past with a 4in belt sander (Makita 9401) and TBH it's a heck of a lot of work, plus murder on the back, shoulders and knees (and I install sub-floors as part of my day job). I think most tradesmen asked about doing your job would suggest a hired-in floor sander to break the back of the work with smaller tools and some hand sanding to handle the edges and corners. Those big floor sanders are at least 10 times faster than using a 4in belt sander - you'll do even a big room in part of a day. I doubt that I'd ever recommend lifting the boards in the way you are proposing. For a start if the boards are T&G, and particularly if they are old (and possibly brittle as pitch pine can be, for example) you are going to end-up breaking at least some of the boards. In really bad cases up to half of the boards may not come up without damage. For most tradesman that is far too risky a proposition.

 

[Yukster]

I think most tradesmen asked about doing your job would suggest a hired-in floor sander to break the back of the work with smaller tools and some hand sanding to handle the edges and corners. Those big floor sanders are at least 10 times faster than using a 4in belt sander - you'll do even a big room in part of a day. I doubt that I'd ever recommend lifting the boards in the way you are proposing. For a start if the boards are T&G, and particularly if they are old (and possibly brittle as pitch pine can be, for example) you are going to end-up breaking at least some of the boards. In really bad cases up to half of the boards may not come up without damage. For most tradesman that is far too risky a proposition.

Thanks all for your fantastic advice. I want to clarify - sorry if it wasn't clear from my initial post - that my floorboards are not installed yet so i can easily sand or plane them before or after i install them. I got them from the reclamation yard and for the time being the boards are stacked in my house ready to be installed. I can take it outside or do the job inside. So it's come down to a two horse race, the hired sander vs the planer with a proper extractor, isn't it?

 

[Burnerman]

Only my opinion mate but with any boards there's going to be a degree of cupping / bowing.....therefore it would be through the planer / thicknesser for me!
John

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Only my opinion mate but with any boards there's going to be a degree of cupping / bowing.....therefore it would be through the planer / thicknesser for me!

I think that I might go the other way, John, particularly if the supplied boards are T&G where getting the tongues and grooves to marry-up after thicknessing and also getting a flat floor at installation might be a bit of a challenge (depending on how badly cupped the boards were to start with). So I'll hedge my bets and say that if the boards are T&G I'd install first (which in any case would tend to flatten them a bit) and then use the industrial sander to complete the process of flattening them out on the floor with smaller sanders to work into the corners/nooks/crannies. With plain-edge boards I might go either way depending on the consistency, quality and amount of cup. How's that for a bit of fence sitting?

 

[Burnerman]

Ha! Yes, well maybe the best option is somewhere between the two - depending on the warp of the boards. Looking at the task again, you may well be right!
Certainly, the purchase of a thicknesser against the hire of a floor sander may well swing the deal.
John

 

[Yukster]

I think that I might go the other way, John, particularly if the supplied boards are T&G .....With plain-edge boards I might go either way depending on the consistency

The boards are not t&g. I got straight-edge pine floorboards. There's a small bit of cupping

 

[Yukster]

What dust extractor would you recommend to use with the thicknesser?

 

[Burnerman]

Any extractor needs to deal with chips, somewhat heavier than dust......something like Machine Marts CX2000 by Record will serve well - but of course it costs over the ton.
John

 

[Yukster]

Any extractor needs to deal with chips, somewhat heavier than dust......something like Machine Marts CX2000 by Record will serve well - but of course it costs over the ton.
John

Is this the one? https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/record-power-cx2000-compact-chip-collector/

 

[Burnerman]

Yep, something like that one.....they are high volume, low pressure extractors which means that they are quiet and can run for long intervals at a time - unlike the average vac.
The bottom bag collects the chips, the top one lets the air escape. There are quite a few similar machines to this, all working in the same way.
John

 

[Chud]

I think that I might go the other way, John, particularly if the supplied boards are T&G .....With plain-edge boards I might go either way depending on the consistency

The boards are not t&g. I got straight-edge pine floorboards. There's a small bit of cupping

If they're cupped then do you not need to use a jointer rather than a planer/thicknesser - my understanding is that the rollers on the planer push out the cup while it's operating and it just springs back afterwards? i.e. use a jointer first (or planer set up as jointer) to remove the cup then thickness them.

 

[Yukster]

If they're cupped then do you not need to use a jointer rather than a planer/thicknesser - my understanding is that the rollers on the planer push out the cup while it's operating and it just springs back afterwards? i.e. use a jointer first (or planer set up as jointer) to remove the cup then thickness them.

what is the difference between a jointer and a planer?

 

[Burnerman]

The jointer is particularly adept at producing planed square edges, whereas a thicknesser is just that.....
Personally I don't think you need to worry about the machine bending any of the planks, and I'd still go for pushing them through a thicknesser - with a fine setting, of course!
John

 

[Chud]

If they're cupped then do you not need to use a jointer rather than a planer/thicknesser - my understanding is that the rollers on the planer push out the cup while it's operating and it just springs back afterwards? i.e. use a jointer first (or planer set up as jointer) to remove the cup then thickness them.

what is the difference between a jointer and a planer?

Take a look at this: