Do any of you guys know of a Lacing Jig available? To use with a router?

There used to be one called SpeedMaster, & one called LaceCrafter.

I've searched and searched for them, or any others. Any clues ???

Thanks,
Howard

Another guy was searching for this a few years back but I don't think he found it. I can't envision that being better or faster than a Fein tool butted against a speed square.

I cannot envision lacing in using a router. It would leave the inside corners rounded. Then you would need to square them off. When lacing in, I usually take it back to a factory joint whenever possible. When I do need to cut a board to length, a square and a skill saw work fine for me. Or as Jerry mentions, the Fein Multi-Master or similar.

I havent done any lacing in quite a while.

I just looked at 4 houses for a GC , that he's rehabing, And I got the go on just a ton of lacing. Gotta love it . And a GC. I dont know if you guys love them like I do !

I knew a fellow years ago that used one of those jigs, and it was amaizing fast. He did have the rounded corners, but used a small diameter bit. So the corners were tiny. It was nothing to square them off with a chisel.

I was brought up with the old skill saw and chisels, like you Gary .

Just have all that lacing running around in my mind ! Thinking there's got to be a better way!

I'll look into the Fein Multimaster. Dont mind the investment, but hate to buy it and dont like it.

I bought this HF Multi-Function tool because I didn't want to spend a boat load of money either. I'll tell you, it worked fine. I cut through hardwood easily. But the blades don't last forever so if you have loads of cutting to do, get extra blades.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=65700



When lacing in, it's easier to go back to factory joints as much as possible. I'll skill saw down both sides of the board in about 3/8" from the edges, right up to the butt end of the board. Then I connect the two vertical cuts with a long diagonal and lift the middle out. Then I tap toward the center the grooved side of the board, which will come out easy as it hasn't been fastened down. The tongue side usually requires delicate work with a chisel and hammer. Hopefully, the skill saw cut through the fasteners so those aren't hanging you up much.

The only time you'll need to make a butt end cut is if it's a very long board you do not want to take way back into the field of flooring you're saving. That's where the Multiple Function tool comes in handy. I put a small square where I want to cut and make a deep scribe with a sharp nail or similar. Now you have a nice start to cut with the Multi tool.

All bets are off if the floors have been glued down. UGH! Those are the worst to lace into. The easiest are the 5/16" squared-edged face-nailed floors. No T&G's to deal with. Very easy and fast. The 3/4" take more time. I just did one where I had to lace in one room to another in an opening of about 10'. Cutting the wood out only took a few hours. Installing the new took more time because I did not want to face nail any flooring. I glued the backside of each board where I could not get to blind nail. Do not put glue on the subfloor! You'll just bunch it up toward the end butts as you tap the new board into place.

Good luck. You'll spend lots of time bent over on that lace in.

Thanks Gary !

I'll head over to HF tomorrow and pick one up, and lots of blades

These old homes have the old original 1/2 x 2 , pretty cool. Should be a lot easier to lace than 3/4.

Being brought up in the bus. in So Cal, a huge part of the business back in the early 70's was tearing up all the carpet and saving those original 1/2 x2 floors ( lots of lacing, animal stains, all kinds of damage ). But what a sense of satifaction to see the awesome finished product. I'm actually looking pretty forward to these older homes. Been a long time since I've done that type of job. Yep I'm sure the knees will be crying

Thanks again for all that great info.
Howard

Good luck on that project. You are right about the sense of satisfaction that comes from doing a restoration of a floor that has been evaluated by others as being non-repairable.
Used to love being called in on those after everyone else scratched their heads and walked off the job.
When I first started, there were no power tools for that type of work, so it was all hammer and chisel, and boards that were too long to pull back, so lots of hand work making new joints.

Me neither! For T&G floors, we/I used the Powernailer manual nailer. For 5/16", I used a Cavanaugh. To cut the flooring, I used a sharp Disston back saw or sometimes, a Skill saw. Rips were done on a little, belt driven Sears table saw with a small motor. No compressors or fancy power tools. When I had to face nail, either pre-drilled or just drove those #8's in by hand. To make end butt cuts easier in 3/4" wood, I used the old drill method of drilling out connecting holes then cleaning them up with a chisel. After a few years of that, I finally got my first Makita powered miter saw. Then a jig saw. Then a little Makita table saw. Finally, I got the air tools when Bostitch came out with the M111 FS. That and a Senco finish nailer. Installing got easier then. Lacing in was still done the same old way though.

As the song goes "Those were the days my friends "

Before the 1st pre-fin urethane plank !

This business has sure changed. We should right a bathroom book !