Which Saw would Work Best in this Situation?

[kailor]

I have a great deal of "true" 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 rough sawn oak lumber from which I'd like to make flooring for a backyard office. Most boards are warped, cupped and/or bowed to a degree. What saw could be used to best slice each board in half...in other words a 2 x 6 x 12' would become two 1 x 6 x 12' boards? I imagine a jig of some sort would be involved. TIA.

 

[kyrbz]

Bandsaw with preferably a carbide resaw blade but your results are going to be inconsistent unless you flatten at least one face on a jointer first.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You need a band saw and then a jointer.

If they are cupped/warped bad, you probably will NOT be able to spike them in half and come out with usable 1by lumber

 

[flippin]

Bandsaw and jointer as others have said. But if you could use 6/4", maybe a thickness planer would be easier. Ripping oak 2x6 will require a pretty beefy bandsaw

 

[kailor]

I have a 6" RIGID jointer. Perhaps a pass on each side and just have thick flooring? I guess I could joint one face, lay it to the floor and then drum sand the entire floor...thinking out loud here...

 

[KnurledNut]

I’ve ripped 2x6 on edge with a Makita 16-5/16 beam saw.

 

[Muttly]

I’ve ripped 2x6 on edge with a Makita 16-5/16 beam saw.

I don't suggest the general public operate a Makita 16-5/16 beam saw without training, let alone try to resaw an oak 2x6 with one.

 

[The Cobbler]

6" oak will be a tough job to re-saw on a home consumer grade bandsaw , in my opinion.
then , do you plan on Tongue & groove or?
is your backyard office weathertite & heated etc> what sort of results are you hoping for?

 

[Beerhippie]

I don't suggest the general public operate a Makita 16-5/16 beam saw without training, let alone try to resaw an oak 2x6 with one.

Certainly the most intimidating hand-held power saw I've ever used! The torque on start-up is... scary.

 

[PCustoms]

6" oak will be a tough job to re-saw on a home consumer grade bandsaw , in my opinion.
then , do you plan on Tongue & groove or?
is your backyard office weathertite & heated etc> what sort of results are you hoping for?

Define "consumer grade"

It's definitely possible, but the length is going to make setup a PITA, plus the shear amount he's going to need to run.

$1k-$2k for the saw, another $500 in accessories. And then the rest of your points...

@kailor is this red or white?

 

[kailor]

Not sure of red or white oak

 

[The Cobbler]

Define "consumer grade"

you're smart enough to know what I mean

 

[jar944]

Just go buy some character grade oak flooring. You will be weeks of time and $ thousands in equipment ahead

Unless you just want pallet wood flooring.

 

[RTM]

I think the worst part of this job would be the getting it ready for the saw, the joining or running it through a thickness planer on a sled to join it.

My 14" Laguna would have no problems resawing the 2x6 oak. My skill set may make it hard to get a perfect 12' 1 inch thick board, but with a second set of hands we have done a 6 footer.

Nailing it down as is and sanding might work, but it may move again once you removed a boatload of wood from one side.

 

[whateg01]

I don't know how much the lumber is twisted, bowed, cupped, warped, whatever, but there's a good chance than when you start slicing and dicing internal stresses will get relieved and those traits will get worse. You may find that by the time you get flat boards out of them, you only get 1. Or you may find that to get flat boards out of them you have to cut them shorter.

 

[Beerhippie]

Just go buy some character grade oak flooring. You will be weeks of time and $ thousands in equipment ahead

Unless you just want pallet wood flooring.

That would be the right way, but it wouldn't be the Garage Journal way.

 

[jar944]

That would be the right way, but it wouldn't be the Garage Journal way.

In that case op needs a stenner resaw and a weinig proformat.

 

[RegeSullivan]

If it's dry enough for flooring it's dry enough to sell. I'd find a buyer and use the money to buy milled hardwood flooring ready to be put down. Using what you have will result in mostly chips and sawdust.

 

[Wamsutta]

Get the boards soaking wet and stack some heavy still plates on top of them. 3/4'' thick steel plates. Break rotors work good too.

 

[PCustoms]

Get the boards soaking wet and stack some heavy still plates on top of them. 3/4'' thick steel plates. Break rotors work good too.

Perfect way to get blue/black streaked flooring!

 

[RegeSullivan]

Once lumber is dried it's not going to "unwarp" or "untwist". I think what the op wants to do is unrealistic. What might work if there is enough to cover the floor without re-sawing is find a guy with 8" or larger jointer and joint it top and bottom to 5/4 then joint 1 edge, cut to width.

All that said... in Huntsville AL unless this is intended to be super rustic I wouldn't do it. Humidity swings will make the best HW floor install unforgiving. Milled tongue and grove properly installed would be more forgiving or as much as I dislike prefinished engineered hardwood that would be most forgiving in high humidity situations.

 

[neophyte]

I have a great deal of "true" 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 rough sawn oak lumber from which I'd like to make flooring for a backyard office. Most boards are warped, cupped and/or bowed to a degree. What saw could be used to best slice each board in half...in other words a 2 x 6 x 12' would become two 1 x 6 x 12' boards? I imagine a jig of some sort would be involved. TIA.

This is going to be a giant pain in the @ss ! And it might be cheaper to buy new oak flooring then to get the wood cut, straightened, flattened, and planed smooth.
This is just the cost of blades and cutters, let alone buying proper tools.

 

[jives]

Put me down as a naysayer. Sorry, but if the lumber is warped/cupped/twisted as you say, you will not get two boards out of one. Joint or plane down to straight, then consider what to do.

Consider that this is the basic process to straighten out warp. On a regular bandsaw you will need to attach each board to a straight edge and run them through together.

 

[kailor]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'll likely try for boards in the 3"-4" length range. Ultimately, I'll let each board dictate the lengths I can obtain from them.

 

[whateg01]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'll likely try for boards in the 3"-4" length range. Ultimately, I'll let each board dictate the lengths I can obtain from them.

Huh? That's a lot of tiny chunks of wood.

 

[KnurledNut]

I don't suggest the general public operate a Makita 16-5/16 beam saw without training, let alone try to resaw an oak 2x6 with one.

Ohhh come on, have a little fun. We all had to start somewhere...

 

[kailor]

3' - 4' range...

 

[jar944]

Netting 3/4 flooring from 2" thick boards is going to be tough no matter what you do. Depending on how you rip those you are already loosing .0625 to .125 in thickness before you joint and plane them. I would anticipate a 50% waste factor.

That's assuming you want a flat floor.

If you are ok with lippage on each board then cut away and nail it down.

 

[mike93lx]

I'm all for trying to learn, but this is one where I would save the wood for something else and buy flooring.

 

[MiteyF]

I'm still thinking about trying to use a beam saw on 6" thick, narrow, twisted, super dry oak. My ********'s puckered and my right hand is trembling a bit.

 

[CoogarXR]

I'm still thinking about trying to use a beam saw on 6" thick, narrow, twisted, super dry oak. My ********'s puckered and my right hand is trembling a bit.

Oh come on, have a couple beers, settle down, and then give it a try.

 

[RegeSullivan]

I wouldn't risk ripping anything 6" thick with a circular saw. I've had a hard enough time ripping 8/4 on my 3hp Saw Stop table saw.

 

[MiteyF]

Oh come on, have a couple beers, settle down, and then give it a try.

I mean, I don't do anything in the shop without a beer in hand. Honestly, I don't do much at all without a beer in hand.

Used correctly, it's a great performance enhancing drug. Ever tried to run a router, doing small inlay work after a pot of coffee? Bad idea. You're much better off doing that after a beer and a scotch.

 

[Beerhippie]

I mean, I don't do anything in the shop without a beer in hand. Honestly, I don't do much at all without a beer in hand.

Used correctly, it's a great performance enhancing drug. Ever tried to run a router, doing small inlay work after a pot of coffee? Bad idea. You're much better off doing that after a beer and a scotch.

My boss, who taught me the little I know about welding (mostly along the lines of "The welder's right over there--figure it out.") taught me that the first step of prepping metal for welding was to open a beer. Of course, he owned the brewery....

 

[ALinCarolina]

I agree with the naysayers. Say you resaw the boards on a bandsaw. You will have thinner boards but still warped and too rough for finished surface. Forget trying to joint a 12 ft. board. Even if you could find a jointer with a very, very long bed, if the board is even mildly bowed, you will end up with the thickness of veneer. If you just run it through the planer after resawing you will end up with the desired thickness but still have a bowed board. Which means when you put the flooring down you will just be depending on the staples or brads to hold it to the joists. Just buy some flat, straight flooring boards.

 

[y'sguy]

I would check to see if you are lucky enough to have a mill in your area to do the heavy work. I happen to have one in my town. They are super capable and do beautiful work. The best part is I don't even have to own any of the equipment they use. They know the trick to tilting etc. to maximize usage or waste. Unfortunately, you are still going to have this and may have too much loss to complete your project. I get what you are after, It may make for a nice work floor.

 

[PCustoms]

I would check to see if you are lucky enough to have a mill in your area to do the heavy work. I happen to have one in my town. They are super capable and do beautiful work. The best part is I don't even have to own any of the equipment they use. They know the trick to tilting etc. to maximize usage or waste. Unfortunately, you are still going to have this and may have too much loss to complete your project. I get what you are after, It may make for a nice work floor.

You can bring sawn lumber to your mill and have them resaw?

 

[y'sguy]

Just to be clear, I don't own any heavy lumber-cutting machines I could do any of this with. I would have to trust them to do it. It's not what they do on a regular basis, they cut high-end cabinetry trim shapes and such and have for many years. That is their specialty, I am not saying that they would particularly welcome this job. They also machine their own dies for the "picture frame" styles assortment of stuff they sell.

 

[PCustoms]

Just to be clear, I don't own any heavy lumber-cutting machines I could do any of this with. I would have to trust them to do it. It's not what they do on a regular basis, they cut high-end cabinetry trim shapes and such and have for many years. That is their specialty, I am not saying that they would particularly welcome this job. They also machine their own dies for the "picture frame" styles assortment of stuff they sell.

It was clear that you don't own the equipment.

To clarify, if you show up with a truckload of already rough sawn, potentially twisted oak would they resaw and surface for you?

I doubt it.

I suspect the OP likely has a pile of firewood at this point.

 

[jar944]

Just to be clear, I don't own any heavy lumber-cutting machines I could do any of this with. I would have to trust them to do it. It's not what they do on a regular basis, they cut high-end cabinetry trim shapes and such and have for many years. That is their specialty, I am not saying that they would particularly welcome this job. They also machine their own dies for the "picture frame" styles assortment of stuff they sell.

I don't know any millwork or cabinet shops that will take customer supplied reclaimed lumber and run it through their equipment. I certainly wouldn't.