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Hardwood Flooring Tools For Solid Exotic Floors

For customers planning on handling the installation themselves we’ve listed a general guide as to what types of power tools may be needed for the project.

For any installation with solid exotic hardwoods let it be known that all of our products are harder and thus more dense than common domestic hardwoods. What does that mean?

Durable Tools

While tool costs can get pricey, you're better off siding with quality and more important, types of saw blades used.

Tools:

Compound Miter Saw- Most box stores carry ones that can handle the job for about $200. In our last check, suitable carbide blades come along with it, and should last the duration of the job.

If you're borrowing a neighbors miter saw it's advisable to buy a brand new carbide blade. What type? 40 tooth common blades will do fine running about $30 and should last the duration of the job. Otherwise used blades will slow the job, and can potentially be dangerous to use with exotic hardwoods. Blade binding and kick backs come to mind.

Table Saw- Very important if the installation falls into other rooms. Rip cutting (sawing the length of a board) will be needed for areas where boards run parallel to wall lines. It is not necessary to buy expensive saw blades for the table saw. Any common 7 ¼ circular saw blade ($ 8-10) works fine providing the arbor size is the same.

Jig Saw- Used for cutting irregular angles or radiuses. Cutting the flooring around door casings is one example or inside corners on one piece of hardwood is another. Cheaper jig saws will have a difficult time cutting through exotics. Adjustable speed characteristics are also suggested.

Nailers- For exotic hardwoods pneumatic is the only choice in our opinion. The denseness of exotic hardwoods makes it extremely difficult to use a tool that works by manual means. Pneumatic is air driven whereby the air pressure takes care of the effort needed to nail or staple a board into place.

How About Renting Power Tools?

For smaller projects it may be worthwhile, but often with folks handling the jobs themselves the work is rarely completed in a consecutive time span. Other priorities with life come into play and the project may take weeks and sometimes months. Renting would be cost prohibitive.

"Renting off Ebay?" Done quite often with smaller specialty tools that can be shipped effectively. A few would include a hardwood floor nailer and jamb saw. Simply find the tool for sale, hold on to it and resell at a later date. Costs incurred are mostly shipping providing the tools are taken care of well and used properly. Savings from purchasing? About $ 700.00

There are other hardwood flooring tools worth investigating for installing your new floor.