New "old" oak floor boards planing etc

[bernardgreen]

The building is a 500 year old cottage with Grade II listing. The original boards have to be conserved in place but they are more dust and holes than wood.

I have laid air dried English oak planks 13 inches wide on a suspended floor to copy the original boards. They are now fixed to the suspended mini joists by hidden fixings to appear to be loose laid as the originals were.

Problem is that they have band saw marks across the grain and these need to be removed by planning or a heck of a lot of hand sanding before being oiled. Some of the boards have warped and the power plane cannot remove the cross grain marks at the edges without taking a lot of wood from the centre of the plank.

Are there any methods to reduce what looks like being a couple of weeks of hand sanding.

Yes I KNOW they should have been planed before being fixed down but I needed the bedroom to be useable without falling through the holes in the original floor.

 

[foxhole]

You could use a floor sander, or a hand belt sander.

 

[Dave54]

The only thing I can think of offhand that might do it is a floor sander. Basically a big belt or drum sander with a handle so you use it standing up. You can hire them, but I must say I've never actually used one.
ETA Too late!

 

[bernardgreen]

Thanks for these suggestions. I used a drum sander some 30 years ago with good results but those were flat boards.

The boards here are slightly domed so a wide belt will just rock of the top. A narrow belt sander will do the job after a lot of time and belts have been used.

It is very hard oak and sanding belts do not last long.

 

[Dave54]

To be honest mate I can't think of anything easy. You can, and I have used a router "sled" to flatten larger areas (Google it) although nothing as big as a floor. It's going to be a lot of work. Another thought is a "badger" hand plane, with a heavily curved blade to remove the bulk of the material. You use it diagonally across the grain, and I have used one successfully on larger areas of oak, again not floors, and very hard work on a floor I'd have thought.

 

[ladylola]

I've done this sort of thing with a hand held belt sander. Long job to be honest . Flatness wasn't an issue as blending in new boards with old a final uneven finish looked far better. The boards were also further "finished" with chains in sacks before the French polishers were let loose to produce what looked like a homogenous floor.

 

[EightyTwo]

The floor sander will flatten all the boards... eventually! After all, it's a metal drum with the sandpaper clamped round it. If you're wanting to leave the boards cupped and domed but take off the saw marks, you'll have to do it by hand or use some kind of compliant backing to the sanding paper.

I've used a foam drum sander in a drill to sand curved surfaces (boomerangs) with great success but I wouldn't want to tackle a floor with one!.

I wonder if you could make a floor sander with a layer of, say, underlay between the sandpaper and the roller? This could deform over the warped planks but still allow the sandpaper to sand the surface.

I think you're going to end up hiring a regular floor sander and using it for a loooooong time...

 

[big-all]

just remember to sand at an angle across all boards first otherwise when you are sanding a cupped board you will take off the high points and the other edge may fall and cut a groove in the valey the last thing you want

 

[bernardgreen]

Thanks for all the advice and the confirmation that I have a lot of work ahead of me. And a lot of dust in the bedclothes despite a powerful dust extractor connected to the planer.

The boards were also further "finished" with chains in sacks

What does one do with the chains in sacks ?

I am thinking that bags of sand on sheets of course sand paper being dragged back and forth along the direction of the grain might create a compliant sanding mechanism.

 

[Dave54]

I'd assume ladylola was referring to using the chains (or whatever) in sacks to beat the crepe out of whatever it is you want to "distress" to either make it look old or match existing work with lots of random dents. It's actually a bit of a black art and hard to get just right.

 

[Norcon]

Most hire companies hire these....
http://www.hss.com/g/5412/Floor-Sander.html

Click on the video.

I assume thats what foxy meant though he didn't make it very clear.

 

[ladylola]

I'd assume ladylola was referring to using the chains (or whatever) in sacks to beat the crepe out of whatever it is you want to "distress" to either make it look old or match existing work with lots of random dents. It's actually a bit of a black art and hard to get just right.

Nail , head