Maple flooring

J

JUSTABANGER 2

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi guys, I ran across a guy that has some maple flooring that came from an old gym floor that was built in 1961 it's tounge and groove 2 1/4 in. by 1 in. by 6 feet. Would this be the same as the bowling alley squares I saw for sale on here a while back ? I'll be looking at it in the next few days to see how the grain runs in it. Is there anything else I should be looking for. PICTURES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
 
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Straight grain, high ring count, and not too many deep dings, nail holes or other damage that would limit it's usefulness.
 
tsp&b said:
Straight grain, high ring count, and not too many deep dings, nail holes or other damage that would limit it's usefulness.
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I haven't seen the wood myself but from talking to the guy it was nailed on the edges and it came from a gym floor that was built 50 years ago. I'm hoping it has really tight grain. I'll know more today or tomorrow. Wish me luck.
 
The way T&G flooring is usually nailed, that won't be an issue for 2 1/4 wide planks.

The issue will be the selection criteria of the wood when it was originally milled into the flooring strips. I sort of doubt the selection was for clear straight grained pieces like one might expect for bowling lane wood. I would suspect it would be more figured than straight grained. If so, the planks weren't necessarily dead straight when put down. Often times when installing solid wood flooring, pieces aren't perfect like engineered wood and installers use ways to torque the boards during nailing to straight things. Once freed, they will likely spring back some.

I have seen gym floors with figured maple before. Things could have been done differently though 50 years ago, so hopefully I'm wrong. Like already said, you want to see tight grain that runs straight the length of the planks. The more boring the wood looks, probably the better.

Kelly
 
Kelly_Guy said:
The way T&G flooring is usually nailed, that won't be an issue for 2 1/4 wide planks.

The issue will be the selection criteria of the wood when it was originally milled into the flooring strips. I sort of doubt the selection was for clear straight grained pieces like one might expect for bowling lane wood. I would suspect it would be more figured than straight grained. If so, the planks weren't necessarily dead straight when put down. Often times when installing solid wood flooring, pieces aren't perfect like engineered wood and installers use ways to torque the boards during nailing to straight things. Once freed, they will likely spring back some.

I have seen gym floors with figured maple before. Things could have been done differently though 50 years ago, so hopefully I'm wrong. Like already said, you want to see tight grain that runs straight the length of the planks. The more boring the wood looks, probably the better.

Kelly
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I see what your saying. I'm taking a 2 hour drive to look at this stuff I sure hope it's worth it. Thanks for the input.
 
Kelly_Guy said:
The issue will be the selection criteria of the wood when it was originally milled into the flooring strips. I sort of doubt the selection was for clear straight grained pieces like one might expect for bowling lane wood. I would suspect it would be more figured than straight grained.

......

I have seen gym floors with figured maple before. Things could have been done differently though 50 years ago, so hopefully I'm wrong.
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My guess is that maple hasn't changed much, and neither has the grading or milling practices. When we bought maple flooring even the very top grade of clear maple was not in the same category as shaft wood. Somehow I doubt that a gym floor would have been built using expensive clear straight maple when a more common grade of maple with its associated figuring can be used to get the same results.

Dave
 
As long as it is a full 1" thick you'll be able to use it with extra work. You need to figure n that lengths need to be in multiples of 30" minimum, 32" better. A piece that it 57" X4" might yeild 4 shafts.The finished surface has to be removed which will make the wood thinner and the edges need to be removed. What is an invisible spot on the floor might end up being unusable. You might have a lot of work to do on a board to line up the grain and get a shaft blank but if the grain of the boards is right and the price isn't too bad you could end up with something that would be a worthwhile project
 
Paul Dayton said:
As long as it is a full 1" thick you'll be able to use it with extra work. You need to figure n that lengths need to be in multiples of 30" minimum, 32" better. A piece that it 57" X4" might yeild 4 shafts.The finished surface has to be removed which will make the wood thinner and the edges need to be removed. What is an invisible spot on the floor might end up being unusable. You might have a lot of work to do on a board to line up the grain and get a shaft blank but if the grain of the boards is right and the price isn't too bad you could end up with something that would be a worthwhile project
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Thanks Paul, I turned down a couple of pieces just to see what they would look like. Now I know turning them from boards to shafts in this short of time will likely cause them to warp but i wanted what they would look like. If i can figure out how to do it i'll post some pixs later.
 
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Actually, since the wood is as old as it is, the shafts will be less likeky to warp. You should give the boards to season, then clean off the finish and leave then alone for a while. It is possible that you will be able to turn them quickly without warping problems. I've had old wood, 20-50 years old that seemed warp proof. You could go from a board to a shaft in one day and they stayed straight. Just don't bet on it.

Play around with some ugly boards and see what happens.
 
Paul Dayton said:
Actually, since the wood is as old as it is, the shafts will be less likeky to warp. You should give the boards to season, then clean off the finish and leave then alone for a while. It is possible that you will be able to turn them quickly without warping problems. I've had old wood, 20-50 years old that seemed warp proof. You could go from a board to a shaft in one day and they stayed straight. Just don't bet on it.

Play around with some ugly boards and see what happens.
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Thanks Paul I sent you a pm.
 
here's your pics

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BHQ said:
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Ok guy, This is the wood from the gym floor as you can see the more I turned it down the more growth rings came out. So what do you think am I wasting my time and money messing with this? These are two random pieces I pull out of a pile turned down just to see what they would look like inside. The thing is the school this is in is coming down in a few days so if I want any more I have to get it now. The guy says there 3000 square feet left. Input please.
 
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