I began by attaching 2 sheets
of 1/2" MDF together to form a 4X16 foot work surface on the floor.
Then using the layout in the book, I pulled chalk lines for reference
and placed each set of planks according to the measurements given
and anchored them in place with brads so they won't shift during
gluing. I looked at the lines carefully to see that they
flowed nicely across the glue break. At one point I went back
and pushed some planks slightly closer together so that the scarf
would overlap perfectly.
After preparing pieces of
plastic, I made up glue blocks from 1/2" MDF and set them ready with
screw all in place. I mixed up my first batch of epoxy and
thickened it to the consistency of jam with thickener. It was a
bit nerve wracking to spread the glue on the joints and set them
all in place, finally clamping each set in place with the glue
blocks, but it all went quite smoothly.
After leaving it all to set-up overnight
I removed the clamps. Then I sanded off the epoxy, just enough
to knock off the rough parts while leaving extra glue on the
surface.
There was a bunch of glue
squeeze out on the sides that I knocked off with a chisel, and then
sanded smooth with my small belt sander. This little 3 X18"
sander is one of my favorite tools and I have worn out 3 of them
over 20 years!
Here's a movie made from images taken every minute
as I worked, time invested 1:15
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