Canadian maple floorboards.

[joe-90]

I've just got 12 squ metres for just about nothing and want to use them in a conservatory that I'm about to build. They are 25mm thick and hard as fook.
I'll hire a floor sander - but what sort of job can I expect from it? I tried a test with my belt sander and it took an age and a hot sander to make any impression. Has anyone sanded similar?

 

[big-all]

you need open coat sandpaper for best results
a 4" sander is twice as good as a 3"
you can use a "rubber" specifically for cleaning sandpaper
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Belt+Cleaning+Stick/p37031

 

[foxhole]

Get a local timber mill to put them thru a planer thicknesser before you lay them.Will look like new

 

[joe-90]

I can't get them milled as they have nails in them - they are good quality boards though out of a prestigious building demolished in the 80s.

Got the whole lot for about 20 quid.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Depends really on the floor sander you're about to hire. How heavy is it, does it have a continues belt or sanding sheets (most hire centres have the latter, which I would stay away from).
Maple is a tough wood species, so it will take a heavy belt sander to get any decent result.

Those nails in the wood, hopefully not on the surface - they will rip any sand paper to bits and might even damage the drum

 

[joe-90]

Yes I'll punch them out backwards before laying them. Last time I hired a sander it was like a big belt sander about the weight of a decent lawnmower. It went across pine boards in no time, but as you say - the maple is a different story altogether. You can't mark it with your thumb nail and it bends nails without pilot holes. I'm hoping that floorboard clamps might help me get it laid but it may even be tough for those.

 

[wingcoax]

Now you know why they use Canadian Maple as dance floors

 

[foxhole]

I can't get them milled as they have nails in them - they are good quality boards though out of a prestigious building demolished in the 80s.

Got the whole lot for about 20 quid.

Remove nails first.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Yes I'll punch them out backwards before laying them.