Quick question, planing down flooring

[Aram]

I have leftover, prefinished jatoba flooring. I'd like to plane it down and make boxes, or whatever grabs me. Should I skim off the top with my bandsaw before I feed it to my planer (Byrd head), or can I plane the finished top directly? It's IndusParquet, with the aluminum oxide and poly top layers.

Thanks.

[BobW]

I can't say it's the right thing to do, but I've done it with my planer with Byrd head. Prefinished maple and teak. After six years my knives are still on their first edge and cutting fine.

Actually, I might have run the finished side across the jointer first. It also has a Byrd...same story on the condition of the knives.

[Grandpa Dave]

Thanks for posting Aram. I've had the same question. I bought nearly a pick-up load of mixed hardwood flooring for $14 at a yard sale. Couldn't pass it up for $14.

Mix of hickory, oak, maple & some cherry...all pre-finished, 3/4", some NIB in widths of 3-1/4" to 5". Since my jointer & planer both have conventional cutter-heads/knives, I haven't tried yet.

I considering taking the finish off with a belt sander before planing...just wasn't sure what approach might be best.

Thought about a workbench top, maybe a fancy floor in a closet, a toolbox or cabinet.

Good post. Thanks!

[tomsteve]

as with bob, idk if its right, but ive ran it through my straight blade planer. one thing i did do was run a few pieces through then shut it off to see if there was a chance the finish heated up and gummed up the blades.
it didnt.

[Paul K. Murphy]

Anything you run through a planer will dull the knives. This particular type of finish isn't too bad. It isn't one of the worst offenders.
I'd run it.

[fishhh4]

I tried running some through my woodmaster . It had the sanding head on it . I did not like the results . Maybe I did not have a course enough sandpaper on. I never tried anything else.

[Aram]

Thanks everyone. Since I have plenty of thickness to spare, and it only takes moments, I may as well lop off the top with a bandsaw and eliminate the question. Appreciate the info and feedback!

[mike4244]

Go ahead and plane the boards,no problem. I used to plane heart pine flooring for a hardwood floor company. This was mostly old growth boards that were removed from homes.Original finish was shellac,then varnish years later. Old growth heart pine is almost non existent except for used flooring.
mike

[alnandy]

Years ago I got a deal on prefinished flooring, lots of nice jatoba, ipe, goncalo alves, etc. from Lumber Liquidators. The manager warned me not to use edged tools to remove the finish, as it has alumina particles embedded in the varnish (lacquer?). The alumina is destructive on HSS and will wear the carbide prematurely.

What he recommended, and we followed the recommendation, was to run the wood through our Performax using a 36 or 40 grit belt to grind off the finish. Then follow up with a 60 or 80 grit belt to remove any 36 or 40 grit particles embedded in the wood. THEN, go ahead an run the wood over cutting tools.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I haven't heard that one. If he's right, the warning is sound.
Incidentally, varnish, not lacquer. I've never heard of lacquering floors.