Custom Hand Scraped Dyed & Stained Solid Hickory Plank Flooring

          For centuries, anything made from wood (including flooring) had to be shaped by hand. Smoothing or final cutting of the face was accomplished by one or another of the hand tools specially designed for this purpose such as an adz, knife, plane or scraper. The blades or cutting edges of these surfacing tools were often sharpened to razor-like keenness then a burr or rolled edge applied in many cases to the business end (or edge) to improve cutting efficiency.

          When I was a pup, we tried very hard to make each movement of the scraper blade such as to minimized our start and stop marks. Acceptance of these marks might be compared to the acceptance of stop or start marks from sanding machines like the drum sander or spinner (edger) in the sanding trade. We left each board’s surface smooth and even. The idea was to create a floor surface as flat and plumb as humanly possible given the limitations of our tools and our skill. Smoothness meant wear ability and durability and in the end, more pleasing to the eye.

          Over the years, I’ve openly shared my knowledge and skill in the fine art of my craft with many thousands of wood flooring mechanics around the world. I’ve worked with apprentices & master craftsmen in all aspects of my trade on the job, in the classroom and through books, videos/DVDs, as well as in numerous technical trade publications and consumer articles. On a few occasions, I’ve even schooled interested students in the rare art of fabricating tools, sharpening them and applying them to the job of smooth scraping wooden flooring.
          Precious few of those I’ve trained in that discipline chose to follow it in its purest form. Virtually all elected instead to apply what they’d learned from smooth scraping to develop their skills in sculpting the face of wooden flooring. Sculpting or contoured scraping is intended to replicate wear. The ever increasing demand for this authentic distressing lured them away. Contour or textured scraping is all the rage these days. Nowadays it seems almost no one knows the meaning, much less the methodology of smooth scraping a wooden plank or a wooden floor.
          The tools of the trade and techniques for expertly simulating genuine wear are similar in many aspects to smooth scraping. The single biggest difference is the use of contoured scrapers and molding devices to groove and roll over the stock, lifting out patches and pockets of grain rather than level them. Some even employee mechanized cutting devices and abrasives to accelerate and balance their techniques.
          Replicating worn or distressed flooring takes practice and skill as well, but more brute force is employed than with smooth scraping therefore the use of mechanized tools is often employed.
          As it turns out, most manufacturers of so called “hand scraped” wooden flooring utilize machines or even sanding devices to create their “hand scraped” products thereby reducing their to market costs.
          Frankly, it doesn’t matter a whole heck of a lot how they “sculpt” their flooring, whether by hand or by machine. Unless they use “skilled artisans” who apply their knowledge and feel for the wood, the outcome, over time, will be the same.

          Properly carving the face of a board takes experience and a feel for the texture and grain of the wood. Each piece is unique. The flow of the grain determines the best way for surfacing it. Contouring the face by “relieving” the softer “early growth” while leaving the harder “late growth” takes skill and resolve. Randomly gouging and distressing the face of a board involves brute force but precious little aptitude.
          Except for a machine’s difficulty replicating a natural wear pattern, they could be employed entirely in place of hand scraping for factory distressing most styles of wooden flooring.
          You might be wondering, what possible difference it could make. If it’s a whole lot less expensive with machines, why not? The real reason is with wear. The ultimate task of any floor should be to support its traffic and stand up over time with a modicum of good looks. And there’s the stinger. Most inexpensive machine made products and many of the hand distressed flooring products can look painfully shabby, even worn out after only a few years.
          Why is this? Over time, all natural materials wear according to their relative toughness. With wood, it is their grain direction and type that determines this. Planks or pieces fashioned skillfully according to their grain or relative toughness will age more naturally than those randomly or mechanically distressed.
          Many purchasers of hand scraped wooden flooring products do so expecting them to show wear or traffic less than smooth-faced items. Unfortunately, mechanically or randomly scraped wooden flooring usually looks severely worn far more quickly than sanded or smooth faced traditionally finished flooring. In fact, most inexpensive and some even relatively pricey hand scraped products can look damaged and dull, worn out before their time (or at least extremely unattractive prematurely) -- especially when compared to most other solid wooden flooring types.
          Smooth scraped wooden floors look rather similar to smooth sanded floors when they're initially installed and finished.  It takes a practiced eye and often some strong glare lighting to bring out the “shape” of pieces or planks that have been smooth scraped, particularly on sample boards. Large rooms and those with floor-to-ceiling windows or broad indirect lighting accentuate the subtle texture of smooth scraped wooden flooring. Such rooms look distinctively classic and strikingly elegant with “smooth scraped” wooden flooring.
          Oil and wax is the method of choice for finishing smooth scraped or lightly textured hand scraped wooden flooring. Over time with medium foot traffic, those floors will continue to improve with age. Like an old leather couch or jacket or vintage hand loomed woolen sweater, smooth scraped wooden floors accrue in both appearance and worth in due time.


Don Bollinger

Q & A: Making End Grain Block Flooring from Wood Scraps & Cut Off 2 X 4s

Mr. Bollinger I am a finish carpenter in Minneapolis... work is slow, money is tight... Iam wondering if it’s possible to do end grain floors from spf 2×4 cut offs.I found your Taunton press book online and would be happy to buy it ifthere's a section on end grain floors. If not, do you know of any reallysolid resources for me on my end grain question and answer quest? I amgetting frustrated with wading through all of the amateurself-congratulatory blog posts to get answers to some of my questions...thank you for any much needed help you could give me Sincerely Andrew N.

Not sure what you mean by “spf” Andrew. I assume you’re referring to a conifer framing material since you say they’re 2 X 4 cutoffs. I appreciate your willingness to buy my “Hardwood Floors” book from Taunton Press. With that 25¢ to 50¢ in royalty from Taunton Press I might spring for a tip on my next Starbucks Latte. That is the next time I’m inclined to think I can afford a Starbucks Latte…which is has been some time now. Yes, things are very slow out our way as well.

All satire aside, there are not many details on how to manufacture wood flooring in my hardwood book and almost nothing at all on how to make end grain flooring from 2 X 4 scraps. Further, I can’t think of a single book or guideline on the subject to help guide you. Your concept however, is a good one. I have on numerous occasions shown flooring mills how to set up jigs and use their “fall down” for the manufacture of wood flooring, including end grain block. Wood flooring is after all the ultimate by product of hardwood materials construction. And end grain block is the end all (pun intended) by-product of by products.

End grain block for flooring (or paving for that matter) can be made from almost any wood material. There are even edge grain products that are now made from scraps of plywood materials!

There’s really no need to go into great detail on how to set up a jig or what products to use. From a woodworker’s viewpoint and certainly one familiar with wood flooring, all that should be obvious.

What may not be so apparent is the need for near absolute precision with the thickness of each individual block relative to one another. There’s not a driving need for utter precision with the other dimensions of width and length. These can be easily packed full with a filler of one type or another. (You might want to check out some of my other Qs & As on filling compounds…what to use and when to use them.) Even “rounds” cut from small diameter trees or shrubs can be made into flooring. Rounds flooring presents one of the trickiest from a filling viewpoint.

One of the really neat things about end grain block from scraps is that the scraps can be cut from all different sizes and shapes -- and for that matter, types -- of wood construction materials. You simply ensure each block size or shape has its own little (or big) box, so that the installer can pick and choose by size and shape to create a fabulous array of different designs and patterns of flooring from all those available.

The reason for end grain block thickness exactitude has to do with the sanding and finishing of the product. End grain can be one of the hardest and most challenging of all wood flooring materials to flatten, smooth and finish, particularly when it has not been manufactured or installed with great precision paid to the relative thickness or height of individual blocks. Failure to do so will result in a major issue of what we in the wood flooring trade refer to as “over wood”. Not only must the manufacture of block thickness be planned carefully and carried out precisely, but also the application (or setting) of the individual blocks into the mastic or sand. Otherwise, preparations for finishing or final use could quickly turn into a nightmare of the first order. On more than one occasion I’ve overheard sanders and finishers raving on and on about the problems they’ve had sanding and flattening end grain block flooring projects. They grind and grind and grind away, sometimes for days on end, before they finally get the floor flat enough for finishing or traffic.

There you have it…the ultimate by-product of by products. The really good news is that end grain block makes an incredibly tough and good looking floor in moisture prone areas. It can even be used as pavement for walkways or patios. When designed and installed properly, end grain block becomes a tough and handsome floor for an entryway, mud room, laundry, bathroom or even a patio, exposed walkway or footpath. Years ago, end grain block was the street of choice for many a discriminating horseman or carriage. To quote Mark Twain: “Roadways of stone are not fit for the foot of horse or back of man.”

The keys to designing, installing and maintaining wood block in exposed or exterior applications is acclimation and drainage, just as with exposed stone or tile, only much more so. Resistance to insects, mold growth and decay is also a major requirement. Species like white oak, mesquite, southern yellow pine and others with strong resistance to decay and pests have long been the products of choice for these types of installations.

Hope this helps you Andrew and any other readers considering such an enterprise or installation.

More later.

Don Bollinger

Q & A: Concerns When Tying Together New & Old Hardwood Floors

Hi Don,

Please can you tell me. We have original wood floors in our home, they are white oak dated 1959 when the house was built. We recently had the floors refinished and they are beautiful. We are considering knocking our kitchen wall to the hallway where the hardwood floor exists, and want to put a hardwood floor in the kitchen, we are trying to match the wood as closely as possible but don't know how to tie the 2 floors in together so they look as natural as possible. Please any help would be greatly appreciated.

Donna L.


Donna, you indicated you were happy with the refinishing work you got from your previous wood flooring contractor. I would suggest you contact them regarding this new project. Ask them if they feel confident matching (or at least closely replicating) the flooring in the rest of your home. Don’t be surprised if they tell you they cannot guarantee an exact match with your existing wood flooring. That is precisely what our company would say.

Hardwood flooring volumes, mill locations, milling practices, hardwood lumber and shipping systems have all changed substantially since 1959. Virtually every home got hardwood flooring until the mid 1960s. Hardwood flooring was milled and shipped from all over the eastern US (mostly from the Mississippi River east). There are hundreds of different oak species that grow in the US (not just red and white oak as many people think). Each oak species has its own individual characteristics, some of which accounts for all the different shades or hues that can be imparted when coated with one of the many different sealers and finishes available to floor finishers these days.

The degree and type of traffic your original floor endured can also make it difficult to match. Heavy traffic or unprotected wear as well as many types of water damage will often not sand out completely. Sunlight or strong UV light can unalterably bleach or yellow some species, while low lighting and time can sometimes unalterably darken others.

One of the most noticeable differences between old and new flooring boards could well be their average overall board lengths. In the 1950s wood flooring boards often ranged upward from 10 to 12 feet – sometimes reaching lengths of 14 feet or longer. Due in part to milling machinery but largely to shipping practices, average board lengths have gotten substantially shorter. Today, most long haul commodities are shipped via container (even by railroad) and must fit sideways in a cargo container lengthwise. This means the longest board must be under 7-1/2 feet. To accommodate longer lengths, specialty mills will ship their products lengthwise. This creates a lot of unused space and complicates handling. Either way, it causes such products to be harder to find and more expensive.

When our company takes on a project like yours (and we do quite often), we always insist on a good deal of flexibility with regard to quantity, color and grading of the flooring utilized to match to an existing floor. The first thing we do when matching to an existing floor is tear out a few boards from the existing. This will help us determine the grade, species and color of the original material and as it turns out is necessary for properly lacing into the existing flooring

Just knowing the original grade, species and color of the original floor does not guarantee a perfect match. But it is a good starting point. Then we must compare the sanded face of the original flooring boards to that currently available in a matching size.

Even this doesn’t always mean we will exactly match the new to the original flooring. We like to insist on going further by sanding sections of the original flooring prior to lacing in new material. Thus we can obtain a side-by-side comparison of new to existing by color, texture and grading.

For the most discriminating customers who persist on the closest possible match or where the new and the existing flooring come together at a focal point in unforgiving lighting, there is no substitute for painstakingly mixing and blending. Here the old and new are carefully and meticulously mixed together, then sanded flush to one another and finished with the proposed stain and/or finish. This is a technique our company uses for stain color determination on critical color harmonizing and is the only way blended areas can be fully acknowledged as the best possible match.

When all is said and done, the methodology utilized in lacing or tying two areas together will ultimately decide how good a job is done making the two floors one. This is as much art as a science – probably more so. Unfortunately, some of the biggest obstacles are out of the hands of the flooring restoration contractor. If the original floor was poorly installed, that is crooked to prevailing wall lines or allowed to migrate this way and that as the original installer completed the job, it can be an absolute bear to tie a new floor into it. One of the most difficult, if not nearly impossible tasks in the wood flooring trade is to make a new floor look good when tying it into a poorly installed existing one.

Quite often we find we must tell a client that it is better to pull a whole section of flooring or even the entire floor rather than lace into it in order to make the completed floor visibly appealing. Additionally, the time and labor involved in lacing can quickly expand a project’s budget. Blending several floors together is some of the most demanding work in the trade. It requires a conscientious contractor with many years of experience to pull it off.

I have an especially strong and personal appreciation for the art of lacing hardwood floors these days. The hardwood flooring that I installed in my home for the book “Hardwood Floors”, that I wrote more than 20 years ago, tied together the original wood flooring installed in the house’s bedrooms in the 1950s. When my wife and I remodeled our kitchen last year we decided to knock out the wall separating our kitchen from our dining room and living room. This required combining the wood floors from three areas to create one very spacious and open living space. The final product would put on display the junction of three sections old to new.

Due to the floor’s direct southern exposure and the sun’s strong reflection off our pond, bleaching was in strong evidence with our old floor’s patina. We recognized this bleaching would never match our new flooring and would require replacement. This meant removing over 60% of our living room floor and an extensive lace-in project. Further, due to changes in grading rules over the years, I saw the need to move up a full grade from the original #1 Common to Select and Better grade to effectively pull off the best blend.

My wife and I couldn’t be happier the way the rooms all work together as one. We couldn’t have done it without a near perfect flooring match. Best of all, even I cannot locate the seams of old and new flooring unless I get down on all fours – a position no one should be in when inspecting their wood floors.

I hope you find this information valuable. Please feel free to contact our office if you have further questions.

Thanks,

Don Bollinger