Sanding: Page 2

September 21, 2018

Machines/Tools

Cordless Contraption Lets You ‘Drive’ Your Big Machine

Jerry Brainerd set out looking for a solution to the back pain that comes with sanding a wood floor.

May 21, 2018

Troubleshooting

Really Bad Wave ... and Why It Wasn't the Machine's Fault

Wood floor pro Stephen Diggins investigates the problems of a big machine that kept leaving wave on the floor ... what was it the machine?

November 22, 2017

Hand-scraping

Double-Hand-Scraped Floors Create an Old World Texture

The Old Parkland hospital complex—where JFK was taken after he was assassinated—features exquisite double-hand-scraped floors from Woodwright Hardwood Floors.

July 28, 2017

Techniques

Spreading Dust: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

June 21, 2017

Techniques

Specifics of My Sanding Process, Part 3

Hello all, Keith Long here with Thunderheart Flooring out of Greeley, Colo. This year has been particularly eventful—I have been summertime-busy since four months ago. Now that it actually is summertime, I’ve really been hopping.

June 12, 2017

Techniques

Specifics of My Sanding Process, Part 2

Hello everyone, Keith Long here with Thunderheart Flooring out of Greeley, Colo., for Part 2 of my series on my sanding process (see Part 1). Springtime heading into summer can be interesting weather here on the high plains of Northern Colorado. It snowed a couple inches here the day the local high school seniors had their graduation. Just west of us 50 miles in the Estes Park area, the last school day of the year before summer break was a snow day, as places up there received 36 to 42 inches of snow …

June 2, 2017

Techniques

Specifics of My Sanding Process, Part 1

Hello all, Keith Long here with Thunderheart Flooring, based out of Greeley, Colo. We just went through a five-part series on how to convert a living room from carpet to installing select red oak hardwood on a 45-degree angle with a double-picture-frame border (see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5). Let’s meet up a few more times to do this new series on the specifics of my sanding process for that same floor.

May 26, 2017

Machines/Tools

Retired Floor Sander's 66-Year Love Affair With His Clarke Sander

Retired floor sander Eugene Stone has been using a 12-inch drum sander built in 1951 by Clarke for as long he can remember. It's gotta be love.

March 20, 2017

Machines/Tools

What Goes Around, Stays Around: Ode to the Buffer, Part 2

[Continued from Part 1 of this post…]The buffer will likely be at the forefront when it comes to finding options for refinishing floors that have already been sanded too much. Or homes built before the 1950’s—most are already at that point. There will need to be an alternative to aggressive belt and edger sanding, and I’m betting the buffer will play a major role. Some of the iterations I already mentioned will likely offer some alternatives. I know a lot of contractors who are betting against this and feel people with old homes will buy new floors, but I don’t agree. If they want to stay competitive, they’ll look at these options.In my historic restoration work, I’m totally dependent on a couple of twin Clarke FM-15’s. They are as basic as it gets and date to the late 1960’s. I would have retired years ago if it hadn’t been for these two trusty sidekicks. They don’t need dust containment since we’re not creating any dust. I use them to take old finishes off, and I use them to buff new finishes in. If stains are involved, they get buffed in, also. They would probably make me a cup of cappuccino if I asked them.The one that’s been with me the longest is the one I bought off my dad when he decided to retire. The other buffer came to me when my older brother retired about three years ago. He had a nice complement of machinery to consider buying, but my only interest was in his old FM-15. As you can see in the photos at right, it was in rough shape and looked like it had been a pigeon roost. I took the old boy and had it checked out at American Products in Pineville, N.C., and then I went about the business of cleaning it up. As you can see from the before/after shots, it bounced back nicely.I recently put the boys to work at my latest restoration project in Dearborn, Mich., and, as usual, they pulled their own weight with nary a complaint. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it when someone would see the buffers and ask how old they were. I was flattered by their reaction. It’s like being my age, 70, and having to show an ID to buy a bottle of wine. These two buffers are like my AmEx card … I don’t leave home without them.The buffer has been good to me. It provided me some quality time with my dad when I was barely out of diapers and has allowed me to continue doing something I truly love well into an age when many would be languishing in their BarcaLounger. It’s a machine from our past that has a very promising future. It rolls with the punches and keeps coming back in better shape than before. And if they can be cremated, I’ll probably take one with me to the other side.

January 9, 2017

Machines/Tools

What Goes Around, Stays Around: Ode to the Buffer, Part 1

The buffer has always been my favorite piece of equipment. Like many my age who grew up around a wood floor contractor, I rode my dad's buffer when I wasn't riding a tricycle yet. I got the thrill of the ride; he got the benefits of my weight on the machine when he was waxing. The buffer is easy to tame, and I was probably running one by my early teens when my brothers and I were working with my dad. It's quiet-a real plus in a world of screaming and roaring equipment. Once mastered, it's docile compared to the other machines. It's forgiving and will rarely punish you the way the others do if you sneeze. It can multi-task depending on the attachment. It doesn't have the aggression of the other sanders, but everyone agrees that it's one of the most important machines in the finishing process. I've never met a contractor who felt they could stay competitive without a good buffer in their stable.The buffer I rode as a child was considerably different from what we have today. For starters, my dad's buffer had a fixed handle that made moving it up and down stairs by yourself a real balancing act. (Think of carrying your lawnmower up and down a set of stairs!) There was no adjusting the tilt or extending the handle. It had enough metal in it to build a couple of our modern-day versions. It weighed a ton, and without the pivoting handle, took up a lot of space in your truck.Veteran wood floor contractor Eugene Stone of Pinole, Calif., has a vintage beast of a machine (seen in these photos) that was on job sites before most of the people reading this article were born. Eugene's dad bought this one in 1951, which qualifies it for Medicare. Among other things, please note (in the second photo) the close-up shot of the electrical connection on the motor. If you look carefully, you'll see a red-looking toggle switch. That allowed Eugene and his dad to switch from 110 to 220 with the flick of a wrist. As Eugene would say to all you young guns out there with your bright, shiny new 220 buffer-“been there, done that.”Throughout its history, the buffer has been a machine that has adapted to its surroundings and needs. When the screen-back discs were introduced, it went from a polisher to a finish sander. Not only did it fine-prep the floor, it did double duty to screen between coats of finish. The big downside to both procedures was excessive dust. The excessive dust led to the buffer being the first piece of equipment with dust containment, and it adapted well. Anyone buffing a floor today and kicking up clouds of dust is about two decades behind the times. (And you're a bad example of our trade.)Buffers of today have the same basic features of the buffer of old but a lot more bells and whistles. Handles not only tilt but they telescope as well. We now have buffers with headlights! (Who said you can't do prep work in a dark house?) Don't get me started about all those attachments. Just damn! The single flat-plate drive pad now has some company. There's the hook-and-loop type to make sure the maroon pad stays put while prepping finish between coats. Then you have the Tampico attachment for pulling fine dust from the recesses prior to applying finish. You can put a drive pad on the machine with diamond bits to help prep when the going gets real tough. Within recent years, the drive plate also has smaller discs to facilitate fine surface prep. We also have a 220 version where those small pads counter-rotate to up the ante a bit.

December 16, 2016

Techniques

A Resand Reveals a Huge Repair Mistake

I recently visited a home worth more than $1 million in Heritage Hills, a gated community in Lone Tree, Colo., just south of Denver. Before they moved in, the out-of-state homeowners hired a general contractor referred by their real estate agent to refinish their existing 2 1/4-inch hickory floors a dark brown color. Once they arrived in Colorado, they noticed that the color and sheen was splotchy and inconsistent. They had another contractor provide them with a quote for refinishing their handrail and some cabinetry and, when they asked him if he knew anyone who could fix their hardwood floors, he referred them to us.

August 15, 2016

Techniques

Trick of the Trade: Rolling My Big Machine

A clever cart for his big machine helps this wood flooring contractor save his back.

July 27, 2016

Techniques

Fixing a Bad Insurance Refinish Job

Hardwood flooring pro Avi Hadad discusses how they managed to repair a terrible sanding job by a previous wood flooring contractor.

April 8, 2016

Techniques

Sanding & Finishing Wood Floors: Is It All the Same?

Wood flooring contractor Avi Hadad discusses all the variables that go into sanding and finishing different wood species.

January 26, 2016

Hand-scraping

Re-Scraping an (Already) Scraped Wood Floor, Part 3

After sanding the re-scraped floor (read about that in part two), we had to apply oil.

August 21, 2015

Hand-scraping

Re-Scraping an (Already) Scraped Wood Floor, Part 2

Picking up where I left off on the re-scrape of that walnut floor:I found that scraping the knots with a regular scraper first really helped speed up the process...

July 27, 2015

Techniques

Refinishing Engineered Floors with Aluminum Oxide Finish, Part 2

Picking up where we left over last time on the aluminum oxide resand…

May 11, 2015

Page 2 of 6

Saws 101: What You Should Have as a Wood Floor Pro

Wood floor pro Kyle Neuroh explains which saws wood flooring pros really need, what to know when buying, and how to square up miter and table saws.

5 Y 821 Wfb As21 Ora Touchwood Showroom 1 Med

Bolstered for Success: See the Winners of the 2021 WFB Outstanding Retailer Awards

Demand for chevron is on the rise, so it's important to be familiar with specifics for ordering and installation. (Photo courtesy of State of the Art Wood Flooring Gallery (New York))

Know These Facts When Ordering Chevron Flooring

Breaking down my machines to carry them into job sites by myself sounds like it might be a pain, but it gives me an opportunity to inspect every machine every time I use it.

Why I Love Running a Single-Person Wood Flooring Business

Ott 821 Wfb 35 Res Mac Donough Woodworks 1 3 3 Med2

Antique End Grain Blocks Meet ‘Redneck Grout’

Resource Book

Looking for a specific product or a company? Wood Floor Business has the only comprehensive database of the industry.

Learn More