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Mill Lumber Into Flooring and Trim

Use a shaper or heavy-duty, table-mounted router to mill trim and tongue and groove flooring.

by Bill LaHay

From The Family Handyman

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Q  I have a large quantity of oak lumber and would like to use it for tongue-and-groove flooring in my home. Is there home shop equipment that would make lumber into flooring or custom molding?

Dale Wyttenbach, via e-mail

A  If you’re really enthusiastic, the answer is yes, you can mill lumber into flooring yourself. But we should warn you that it may not be worth the expense and time required. The best small-shop machine for this task is a “spindle shaper” with carbidetip cutters. You’re looking at about a $1,000 investment for a decent setup, and at least $500 more if you add a dust collector to manage the considerable dust and shavings you’ll generate. (This is assuming the lumber is dried and premilled to accurate/uniform size beforehand.)

You could go with a table-mounted router with specialty bits. This setup will cost considerably less than a shaper. But it can’t cut nearly as fast or accurately in hardwood. It’s fussy and time-consuming and you might not like the results.

The other less expensive option, a special molding head that you mount on a table saw, is intended for lighterduty applications and shorter runs than you’ll probably have. It’s not practical for large-volume runs.

Your best option is to ask a local millwork shop to produce the flooring from your lumber. Unfortunately, the cost may be higher than for premilled flooring. But it’s a good strategy if the lumber has personal value (trees from your property). Another option? Sell the lumber and use the proceeds to buy hardwood flooring.

From The Family Handyman - October 2005