Yurt: 2X6 Tongue and Groove Flooring

[Bob Rowlands]

Well, I'M stubborn. lol

Jafo, the homeowner grade router tables like those at Depot and Lowes aren't designed to T&G 2X. They are basically designed for much lighter work, on 4 quarter stock or smaller.

I wouldn't mess with any homeowner grade shaper table or router table setup to T&G 2x6. Trying to cram variable width 3/4 construction common boards into a small undersized tool is no fun. I've done it. 2X? lol No way. That's a good way to take the smile off your face pronto.

So then you bail on the guide feed into the table, and trying to jamb a 20' long 2x6 against a short fence and shove that sucker all the way through in a single pass. You get a hernia forcing that dude against the cutter and shoving it through. And spend 10X what the T&G cost at the docs. lol

Now, if you want to run a 10 amp or larger 1/2" shank router set up to do the work in many passes, fine. That's doable with alot of fiddling, because you feed the rourter into the stock, not viceversa. A guy that REALLY REALLY wants to do it could pull it off. A stubborn guy at that. lol

Trust me. Use a HD router and free hand it if you must.

[microage97]

It would take quite awhile to make enough T&G for a 40' platform. :-)

[Surely Yurts - Steve]

Originally Posted by Bob Rowlands

I wouldn't mess with any homeowner grade shaper table or router table setup to T&G 2x6. Trying to cram variable width 3/4 construction common boards into a small undersized tool is no fun. I've done it. 2X? lol No way. That's a good way to take the smile off your face pronto.

I think, the fastest, easiest & cheapest way to groove alot of boards with home-owner grade tools is with a table saw and a dado blade set. You can set the saw up and run all your grooves then set it up for the tongues and run all through again. I would only do this if I randomly got a great deal on some lumber (which does happen sometimes). It is also easier to Ship-Lap boards using this method which is an accepted interlock method for flooring. I do ship lapping in the shop with dado blades on a radial arm saw using rough Larch from a local Amish mill 5/4"X6". Then the boards go through a shop planer before getting put down as flooring.

Link to example Blade: Dado Saw Blades Set, 8" (416371OR ) at Aubuchon Hardware

Any carpenter worth his or her salt most likely agrees that it's better to buy T&G or Ship-Lap and have it delivered to the jobsite as Bob said. That allows you more time to work on the project as a whole, rather than extra hauling and grooving lumber. Material deliveries cost a little bit more but almost always save time and money in the end. And yes, I used to live in beautiful Fairbanks, AK and it's the same story up there

-Best Regards

[Bob Rowlands]

Regarding using a tablesaw to T&G, and shiplap, I've done both. It just isn't worth it. Shoving 16' 2X vertically over a single blade is bad enough, over a dado blade is just no fun at all. The whole business is fraught with inaccuracy and all around a massive hassle.

You need a dead flat infeed and outfeed table, plus decently straight stock, that is minimally crowned or twisted or bowed or cupped or warped, or loaded with edge splits. Most 2x6 that isn't dripping wet from pressure treating has all those defects. They are cut from fast growing runt 'stud forest' trees that are harvested before they thirty years. The stuff is all plain sawn. Check the end grain. Curved to beat the band. The center of the tree is apparent in the end grain of many 2x6, and in dang near ALL 2x8 and bigger.

Common framing lumber today on the whole is filled with every lumber defect immaginable. Cup twist bow crown warp wane check, nasty encased knots, you name it. That's just the way it is now.


No, the way to go if you want T&G is to buy it. Then get after the rest of the build, just like pros do. Or, like I said, rout it if you are stubborn.

Been there done that guys. Really. No BS. Trust me on this. i'm cheap and do everything with savings in mind. But not even I would consider doing a yurts worth of T&G. Just no way.

[stephanwik]

We use 25mm T & G here in Sweden for our platforms, and it works well IF you take care of it. Never, ever let it get damp or you will have serious problems when putting it together. And never trust Swedish weather forecasts...

We've now learned to put up heavy duty tarps over the entire platform even if there is a promise of a high pressure front.

As for doing your own T & G - Bob is correct IMHO. Forget it. There is no way you can even begin to approach the quality you get from a mill.

[hoinkyle76]

Originally Posted by Surely Yurts - Steve

I think, the fastest, easiest & cheapest way to groove alot of boards with home-owner grade tools is with a table saw and a dado blade set. You can set the saw up and run all your grooves then set it up for the tongues and run all through again. I would only do this if I randomly got a great deal on some lumber (which does happen sometimes). It is also easier to Ship-Lap boards using this method which is an accepted interlock method for flooring. I do ship lapping in the shop with dado blades on a radial arm saw using rough Larch from a local Amish mill 5/4"X6". Then the boards go through a shop planer before getting put down as flooring.

Link to example Blade: Dado Saw Blades Set, 8" (416371OR ) at Aubuchon Hardware

-Best Regards

Hey i want you to know about my recently purchased Yonico 15423 Flooring 4 Router Bit Set. It is specifically marketed for creating grooves in flooring, stile and rail projects. I get to know about it from this piece of information(read) in which they talk in discuss about tongue and groove router bits.
I selected that bit because They have a good amount of weight to them which helps in stability and i think value for money and it working good yet.

That might be a option