I went to the salvaged lumber store last week looking for something specific–some dimensional boards to build shelves out of–but when I saw this pile of shiny, colorful hardwood, I just had to grab some of it. I’m a sucker for rescuing beautiful wood, and this stuff sure does give me all the nostalgic feels. I impulsively bought some panels and carted them back to my shop, and I really hope my impulse pays off.
What I learned
What I discovered as I dug in is that these panels weren’t trimmed carefully, so the edges aren’t square. Also, they’re not uniform in size, so doing the math on how much I can get out of the wood will be a challenge.
I also found a happy surprise when I flipped the first panel over. The floorboards still had one of its original labels on it, and it confirmed my suspicion that I had scored some hardwood maple. This is good news both because the approximately 3’ by 5’ panels only cost $15, but also because in addition to using this reclaimed wood for the surfaces of my shelving project, I can use the offcuts to make lots of other high quality things, even cutting boards if I sand it down carefully.
I also learned as I began prying the 2” by 4” stringers from the boards that the flooring was nailed down under the overlapped tongue and groove, and getting them loose without ruining the wood was going to be tricky. I ended up using a flat bar and working my way from one end of the panel to the other, slowly shimmying the nails loose to avoid splitting the boards.
My plan is to use this material for two projects first:
- A set of shelves for vinyl records and storage for a friend’s home office
- A bar cart conversion of an old rolling kitchen cart
To prepare the material, I’ll need to clean the surface and buff out any scratches. I plan to use a buffing pad on my Milwaukee 18-volt cordless random orbital sander, but you could also opt to use a buffing attachment for a drill. I’ll also sand off any areas where the damage is deeper than the topcoat and add my own layer of clear finish to the top. I might also try using some paste wax on the surface to bring back the shine and show off any details in the figuring of the woodgrain.
Check back in to see how it’s going as I try to make my dream basketball floor into some beautiful one-of-a-kind furniture.
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