How to get a tongue and groove edged?

[parkerdeano]

Hi I'm new here and looking for some advice. I have some plain chipboard sheets and I want to give them a tongue and groove edge to make them stronger flooring boards but I have no idea what tools I need. Ideally I would like something small or a hand tool that's not too expensive. Any pointers in the right direction would be much appreciated.

Many thanks all.

 

[matthewwh]

Hi,

First of all, welcome to the forum!

Now if it were proper tree wood you were tonguing and grooving, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest a plough, or a combi plane. They are fast, clean, quiet and a lot of fun to use - as I've been busy finding out recently with the new one from Veritas.

For composite boards though I would still tend to go for the noisy dusty option of a router and a guide clamp (with ear defenders and a mask). Unfortunately they do come cheap, but I would strongly recommend you dig as deep as you can for both routers and cutters. The cutters are tipped with carbide, which is very hard and brittle. At full tilt they are spinning at approximately the same speed as a formula 1 car engine, so buying quality and treating it with respect will pay dividends.

Best of luck

 

[WellsWood]

Hello Parker, and welcome.
I think you would be better off using your existing stuff for another project and buying proper flooring grade chipboard which already has a T&G edge. Chipboard is a composite material full of all sorts of recycled nasties (it's not unusual to see the sparkle of metal if you look closely at a cut edge) which blunt tools, even carbide tipped ones, very quickly. The cost of tooling to produce any serious amount of T&G from standard chipboard may very well exceed that of buying in proprietry flooring material anyway.
Also, if your proposed usage is subject to any kind of building control (in a new extension on your house for example) then I believe you are required to use flooring manufactured to the relevant standard - homemade stuff from standard chipboard would certainly not meet this criteria. This is particularly important if you plan to use it for an upstairs floor, where one of the issues is how the material behaves as part of the fire barrier between habitable levels.

Hope this helps, and apologies if I've shot your scheme down in flames.

 

[parkerdeano]

I'm intending doing this on a regular basis. Just not sure if it was possible. And at what cost. The option of a router etc is a bit expensive. I have been informed it is possible to get a hand tool, that is simple to use just by running along the edges.

Also Does anyone know of the best suppliers for this kind of equipment?

Cheers.

 

[Jake]

Proper flooring chipboard doesn't have a normal t&g edge like you would use on boards, because chipboard doesn't have the structural strength. So they overlap the top edge of one board much further over the bottom edge of the next - like a t&g with a bit of lapped joint thrown in for good measure. I've never seen a router bit which would make that joint, and suspect that you would be looking at custom made spindle moulder knives to replicate it (which are cheap enough, once you have the spindle, the block, and so on, which aren't).

Piccys here: http://www.blanchford.co.uk/acatalog/Chipboard.html

Like Mark said, Building Control will condemn a floor built with non-flooring grade chipboard (as would any client or architect worth their salt), so the whole enterprise seems a bit flawed unless you are setting up in competition to Kronospan etc. The chipboard itself is different composition (higher density etc) to meet the strength requirements.

 

[Smudger]

I'm intending doing this on a regular basis. Just not sure if it was possible. And at what cost. The option of a router etc is a bit expensive. I have been informed it is possible to get a hand tool, that is simple to use just by running along the edges.

Also Does anyone know of the best suppliers for this kind of equipment?

Cheers.

There was a Stanley T&G plane on eBay this week, but I don't think that it would work on chipboard, they are designed for tree wood. And more expensive than a router.
I've used the flooring quality chipboard for my workshop floor, heavily impregnated with floor varnish. It's still in reasonable condition after a few years and a lot of spills - I don't think the standard quality chipboard would be.

 

[WellsWood]

There are T&G cutter sets on the market like this one. But like I have already said they are not suitable for chipboard as apart from the very abrasive nature of the material as already discussed, chipboard requires a very different profile to produce a viable T&G joint. Add on at least £150 for a worthwhile router to run cutters like this, and bear in mind it should really be inverted in a table to be most effective.

It's just SO much cheaper to buy the stuff ready made, I can't begin to imagine why anyone would want to make their own :?

 

[tim]

It's just SO much cheaper to buy the stuff ready made, I can't begin to imagine why anyone would want to make their own :?

The clue will be in his website link. Frankly selling on seconds unspecified chipboard as suitable for flooring is not smart in my opinion. Maybe someone will save a few quid but they'll regret that when they come through the bedroom ceiling....

Cheers

Tim

 

[woodbloke]

MarkW wrote -

It's just SO much cheaper to buy the stuff ready made, I can't begin to imagine why anyone would want to make their own

Agee with Marks comment about this stuff. Chipboard is nasty stuff at the best of times and can be have bits of stones, lumps of iron etc embedded in it. I will only cut it as a last resort and even then I use tools that I'm not too bothered about, so if you can buy it already jointed, that's the way to go IMO. On the other hand, you can always attempt to groove it yourself and have an interesting woodworking 'journey'...not one that I would contemplate though - Rob

 

[Streepips]

Silk purse and sows ears spring to mind, Good advice from Mark and Woodbloke etc. Dont even attempt it. The only way that this material would take a T&G edge and be safe would be to make it 3 boards thick with the centre board staggered to make the tongue one edge and the groove on the other.

 

[tim]

Silk purse and sows ears spring to mind, Good advice from Mark and Woodbloke etc. Dont even attempt it. The only way that this material would take a T&G edge and be safe would be to make it 3 boards thick with the centre board staggered to make the tongue one edge and the groove on the other.

You are correct but the OP is already marketing ordinary chipboard as suitable for flooring :

http://woodsheets.co.uk/products.aspx

[-X [-X [-X

Cheers

Tim

 

[dennyk]

I am laying floor panels in my loft over the ceiling joists, I bought the panels from (dare I say it) B&Q, each panel in 48 in X 13 in x 3/4 in thick they come in packs of 3 panels, price is £5 per pack , at the moment they have an offer on 12 packs for the price of 10

I have found them very easy to lay single handed, BTW I have screwed them to the joists, that way there is no danger of the bedroom ceiling( it is lath and plaster) coming adrift

 

[Digit]

If you must do it, don't bother! Make a groove in each panel edge and insert a loose tongue, it'll be much stronger!

 

[parkerdeano]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I can see where you are all coming from. I run a recycling business. I am going down several avenues/ideas for recycling chipboard. That's why I'm not buying the t&g chipboard. I've taken your opinions onboard. Maybe not a viable idea.