Hello,

I'm intalling some 4" x .75" plank flooring in purple heart and was wondering if anyone know where I can find counterbore plugs for the screw holes.

I've been scouring the internet and unable to come up with a source.

-Chung

Wood working right? try these
Plug Kutter

The only way to get face grained plugs is to use a plug cutter.

If your floor is nly 4" wide, why are you screwing it through the face???

there are better ways to install the flooring that will hide the fasteners i.e blind nailing, blind screwing.

If you are set upon using screws through the face of the wood, you will need to get a drill press (a cheap one from HD will do) and then get quite a few plug cutters.

Also, anytime you work with Purple heart, cutting, machining, any tool, it will dull very quickly and the blade/cutter will get gummed up.

Clean tools and blades often with Alchohol when working with purple heart.
Get like ten plug cutters, they are cheap, and made with tool steel that purple heart likes to snack on.

Rich

what they said

get a plug cutter..

I re-teaked the deck of my dads boat once, and we countersunk all the screw heads, and used a plug cutter to make plugs from scrap pieces of teak


purple heart..... some floor

I do have a blind cleat nailer, but I read that for floors 4" wide or over, it is preferrable to also screw the floors down at the edges to make sure they don't move.

Just want to be sure. . . 4" was not my 1st choice. I would have gone narrower, but it was a good deal for the material.


-'Chung

You might try Woodworkers Supply.

Using Wood Plugs To Fill Screw Holes

I would like to see a pic of that floor, I don't think I have ever seen someone do one in purple heart! Sounds kewl though!

Plug cutter and make em.

I agree lets see some pics!


Geoff

If the flooring is tongue and groove and if the moisture content is low enough, and if the wood has been in the house where it is going for about three days to aclimate to the house, you can blind nail it like any other strip flooring.

Lots of ifs, they are really important.

In the northeast, we use either tar paper or resin paper to prevent moisture from coming up from below the flor and to assist in stopping any drafts from coming through the floor.

It is highly reccomended, though not always done that you lay the flooring perpendicular to the floor framing, or floor joists.

If you do not need to use paper under the floors (heated space below) then you could also use construction adhesive to assist in making sure the floor will stay down.

Up to you how you put it down, just watch the moisture content of the wood prior to use. Lots of the imported wood has gotten to much moisture from the boat trip and needs to be brought back to normal...can be done with patience, could also explain why it was cheap.

This is a form of mahoghany and therefore will expand and contract quite a bit with moisture..

Did I mention the moisture content??? Its the key.

Get a good quality meter from your local woodworking store and take random checks of the entire load.

Rich

Rich & Chunger

You are so correct moisture content is important. Just got my remodeling project started with 5"x3/4" walnut flooring. We started after the moisture content was under 10%. Also used full trowel adhesive & had to keep the wood inside the room for (2-3) weeks to adjust to room conditions (very very important). The next step is (4) coats of Tong Oil with buffing btwn coats.

Again, moisture is critical.

Tom
Pic of floor in process before Tong Oil

Tom,

Nice job on that floor. It will be a shame to put rugs and furniture over it.

Rich or Tom,

If the flooring is tongue and groove would you recommend gluing the joint? Or is that something that is only done with a floating floor? Seems to me gluing the joint when blind nailing would help keep them together.

I too would like to see some pictures of the floor.

-Jeff

Jeff,

What I (my contr) did was screw down 1/2" plwood over the existing 3/4"? or 7/8"? sub-floor then used a sander to knock off & level the joints. After that they used a grout to fill in a few low spots. The trowel adhesive was trowled over the plywood as the floor (wood) was being installed. As the tongue & groove flooring was installed they had a big F-hammer type thingie that pushed the boards together. Nailing was done about every 8" into the tongue/goove joint. Forgot to say, after the first rough sanding they again trowled filler (walnut color) into any open cracks/grooves then finished sanding. Big guys with arms & shoulders like apes. It took them (3) days to lay down about 1200 sq ft. of flooring.

Tom