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Walnut Flooring has other uses

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Making the most of leftovers.

Making the most of left overs is just as important in the workshop as it is in the kitchen. I had overestimated the amount of hardwood laminated engineered flooring (plywood sub-base) by 3 cases.

 

 

 

Its always good to have some extra and put away just in case of something gets dropped on the floor and damages the hardwood surface. But, I had 3 cases left over. Easy enough to bring 2 cases back to the store but the store I bought it from was 2.5 hrs west of here and I wasn’t about to spend $80 in fuel to get a store credit of $50. So I kept it. I don’t look at it as being stuck with it, because I’m sure at some point I’ll find a project for it. In the meantime, the first thing that comes to mind is to strip away the plywood sub-base and be left with the 1/8 inch thick veneer. Here’s how I did it.

First step to to remove as much as the plywood sub base as possible and the best tool for this is the table saw.  A couple of passes taking about an inch at a time, makes for safe work.

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Table saw makes quick work.

The results from the table saw work are below. The plywood goes to the burn box. Now for a little time with the belt sander and a touch of the random orbital sander using 80 grit.

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The result of ripping the flooring.

After sanding, this is what the bottom side of the walnut looks like.

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Walnut veneer all sanded.

And the top side, the factory finish, is still as good as new.

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Durable walnut flooring factory finish.

Now I was interested to see how well the wood cut on the scroll saw. In particular, how the walnut would splinter along the cut edge. So my first test cut was with the factory finish side facing down.  As I suspected, there was splintering and a little more than I expected.

So next was to flip the board over and do a test cut with the factory finish facing up. As you will see, the factory finish was clean cut along the edge. The underside still splintered. So in either case, the underside of the board splintered.

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Test cutting on the scroll saw.

I suppose if I were to use this wood for small scroll saw projects like Christmas tree ornaments, it would be a suitable wood to use. I’m sure it would have lots of other uses as well.

What do you think? Post your questions or comments below.

A Newfoundland born Canadian with a life long interest in woodworking, baking and anything else that peaks my curiosity.

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