A variant of this is that I've seen is in use on the large manufacturing
area floors at Sikorsky Helicopter in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Wood
blocks, about 4 inches square. They carry a tremendous load without
noticeable failure.

If anyone knows what they are (wood type), where to purchase them and
how they are finished, I'd like to know. I'd like to use them in a two
level garage I'm planning and on my shop floor.

Phil

Andy Dingley wrote:
On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 21:46:07 GMT, "Herman Family"
/without_any_s/ wrote:


If you want a very tough floor, then end grain up wood is among the
toughest. I've seen that in a railroad barn once.


One of the most interesting wood floors I've seen is the
milk-unloading dock at Edge Hill Station, in Liverpool (the Edge Hill
of Stephenson's Rocket fame).

To quieten the early-morning noise of milk churns being unloaded, the
(outdoor) floor was made of wood blocks. However these wood blocks
were pie-shaped wedges, recycled from the railway. An early form of
smooth-riding patent carriage wheel was the Maunsell wheel, a cast
iron hub, steel tyre and clamped-in wooden wedges instead of spokes.