There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

1.DRILLING: What is the optimal drill type for drilling & counterboring
for 3/8" plugs? My current ideas a
a. drilling two separate holes: 3/8" carbide forstner bit for the plugs
and 3/16" carbide brad tipped for the screws or
b. HSS drill bit/countersink/counter bore kit from Lee Valley
Any recommendations on material/drill type/ease of sharpening?

2. My existing deck is 25 years old. The framing is 2x10 treated @ 16"
centers and upon inspection it looks very sound- no rot/soft spots.
I'm not sure how to evaluate how many years may be left in it. Of
course, I don't want to put a 40 year deck on a frame with 10-15 years
left on it. Does anyone have real experience with life expectancy of
1980 treated lumber vs. today's treated lumber? These joists look a
lot straighter than what I've seen lately at Home Depot. Cost to
reframe is ~$2500 using 2x8's.

Any and all advice from experienced ipe users is welcomed!
Thank you.

wrote in message
oups.com...
There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

1.DRILLING: What is the optimal drill type for drilling & counterboring
for 3/8" plugs? My current ideas a
a. drilling two separate holes: 3/8" carbide forstner bit for the plugs
and 3/16" carbide brad tipped for the screws or
b. HSS drill bit/countersink/counter bore kit from Lee Valley
Any recommendations on material/drill type/ease of sharpening?

HSS combo bit and countersink would be the way to go. It will take half the
time and will be cheaper to replace as you wear the bit out. Drilling
really goes easily on Ipe. Use sharp carvbide Blades and cutting and sand
the edges of all the cuts.

wrote in message

1.DRILLING: What is the optimal drill type for drilling & counterboring
for 3/8" plugs? My current ideas a
a. drilling two separate holes: 3/8" carbide forstner bit for the plugs
and 3/16" carbide brad tipped for the screws or

I use either a forstner or brad point for the plug hole, then use the
approriate sized drill for the screw. I'd also use stainless screws with
square drive from McFeelys.



2. My existing deck is 25 years old. The framing is 2x10 treated @ 16"
centers and upon inspection it looks very sound- no rot/soft spots.
I'm not sure how to evaluate how many years may be left in it. Of
course, I don't want to put a 40 year deck on a frame with 10-15 years
left on it.

I'm thinking of doing the same thing on my deck in a year or so. The
structure is very sound the deck boards are getting crappy looking. Yes,
I'm going to leave the structure as it. It is sound and will probably last
longer than me. It dos not get the abuse that the horizintal surfaces get
from sun, snow, etc. I like mahogany with Penofin oil finish but iwll
consider Ipe also. This year it is just getting a coat of stain to prolong
it.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/.

There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

500 Feet squared is 500' X 500', that is one big deck. Do you mean 500
sqft?

1.DRILLING: What is the optimal drill type for drilling & counterboring
for 3/8" plugs? My current ideas a
a. drilling two separate holes: 3/8" carbide forstner bit for the plugs
and 3/16" carbide brad tipped for the screws or
b. HSS drill bit/countersink/counter bore kit from Lee Valley
Any recommendations on material/drill type/ease of sharpening?

I recommend the inexpensive HSS drill-countersink combo type. Buy a bunch
of them and throw them out as they become too dull to use. Drilling the
same hole twice is a huge waste of time, especially when you are talking
about several thousand holes. Buying expensive ones and trying to resharpen
them is also more time and hassle than it's worth.

2. My existing deck is 25 years old. The framing is 2x10 treated @ 16"
centers and upon inspection it looks very sound- no rot/soft spots.
I'm not sure how to evaluate how many years may be left in it. Of
course, I don't want to put a 40 year deck on a frame with 10-15 years
left on it. Does anyone have real experience with life expectancy of
1980 treated lumber vs. today's treated lumber? These joists look a
lot straighter than what I've seen lately at Home Depot. Cost to
reframe is ~$2500 using 2x8's.

Any and all advice from experienced ipe users is welcomed!
Thank you.

I just finished a small project working with Ipe for a client. While
most of the troubles I had won't apply to you, I will warn that I will
most likely never use the stuff again. It is by far the hardest,
densest, and foul material I have ever worked with.

Two router bits broken, half a dozen drill bits, and I need to replace
or sharpen every blade that touched the stuff.

Maybe I was doing something wrong, but I don't think so

Andrew

In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

500 Feet squared is 500' X 500', that is one big deck. Do you mean 500
sqft?

25 ft * 20 ft == 25*20 ft*ft == 500 ft^2

ft^2 _is_ "square foot"

ft^3 is "cubic foot"

But, I figure you know all that, and are just jerking his chain.

Where I come from, square feet and feet squared mean two different things.
500' X 500' is 500 feet squared, 25' X 20' is 500 square feet. 10^2 is 100,
not the sum of 2 X 5, but I may be more of a math nerd than a contractor, so
perhaps ft^2 does equate to sqft 'round here.

"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

500 Feet squared is 500' X 500', that is one big deck. Do you mean 500
sqft?

25 ft * 20 ft == 25*20 ft*ft == 500 ft^2

ft^2 _is_ "square foot"

ft^3 is "cubic foot"

But, I figure you know all that, and are just jerking his chain.

"Rumpy" writes:

Where I come from, square feet and feet squared mean two different things.

Well, square feet a prebably better to walk with than crooked ones,
but ft^2 and sqft *are* synonyms.

500' X 500' is 500 feet squared,

yes

25' X 20' is 500 square feet. 10^2 is 100,

yes.

But:
500 ft^2 is not the same as (500 ft)^2, as the exponentiation binds
stronger then the multiplication, as in 3*10^2=300 and *not* 900...

not the sum of 2 X 5, but I may be more of a math nerd

.... but confusing operator precedence rules.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
Where I come from, square feet and feet squared mean two different things.
500' X 500' is 500 feet squared, 25' X 20' is 500 square feet. 10^2 is 100,

Nit pick: There is no such thing as "500 feet squared"
it is "500 feet square". Without the trailing 'd'.

not the sum of 2 X 5, but I may be more of a math nerd than a contractor, so
perhaps ft^2 does equate to sqft 'round here.

If you _were_ a real math nerd, you'd know how wrong you are. grin

ft^2 is _universally_ understood in scientific and engineering circles to
mean 'square feet'.

When doing math involving terms with 'units' attached, the convention is
that you group the 'pure arithmetic' quantities first, and the consolidate
the 'units separately. and perform the indicated operations on each part.
thus "500 ft X 500 ft" is "500*500 ft*ft", or 250000 ft^2 (and read as
"2500 square feet.") an exponent in the 'units' does *NOT* apply to the
'arithmetic quantity' part of the expression.

This holds whether you are doing 'simple' things like distance/time = velocity,
or messy stuff which could involve terms with units like "newton meters/sec^2"




"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

500 Feet squared is 500' X 500', that is one big deck. Do you mean 500
sqft?

25 ft * 20 ft == 25*20 ft*ft == 500 ft^2

ft^2 _is_ "square foot"

ft^3 is "cubic foot"

But, I figure you know all that, and are just jerking his chain.

"Tattooed and Dusty" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just finished a small project working with Ipe for a client. While
most of the troubles I had won't apply to you, I will warn that I will
most likely never use the stuff again. It is by far the hardest,
densest, and foul material I have ever worked with.

Two router bits broken, half a dozen drill bits, and I need to replace
or sharpen every blade that touched the stuff.

Maybe I was doing something wrong, but I don't think so

While Ipe is about 3 times harder than Oak I think you may want to use
better blades and bits. LOL. I literally have cut up, planed, milled 3/8"
through slots, and beveled probably thousands of pieces of Ipe over and over
in a production setting in the past 4 years and have only had my WWII
resharpened 1 time and have only replaced 1 router bit. I actually got
better mileage using a 3/8" HSS end mill bit over a 3/8" carbide router bit.

Since you are going to a LOT more expense, I would
consider an "under the deck" method of fastening
instead of a god awful number of screw holes that
will need to be plugged.

(1) IPE is VERY hard and will wreck most HSS edges.
On a large deck, think several drill bits and
countersinks.

(2) Look at "Deck Master" products that will allow you
to fasten most/all boards from below. This will be
a spec slower but the results are 200% better in the
end.

Here are two different products with similar results.

Take a peek:

http://www.mcfeelys.com/subcat.asp?subcat=20.4.2

or

http://www.mcfeelys.com/subcat.asp?subcat=20.4.1

or

http://www.ipeclip.com/prod.htm

and don't forget those folks at

www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/TA.html

I would never fasten from above unless I had to.




wrote:

There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

1.DRILLING: What is the optimal drill type for drilling & counterboring
for 3/8" plugs? My current ideas a
a. drilling two separate holes: 3/8" carbide forstner bit for the plugs
and 3/16" carbide brad tipped for the screws or
b. HSS drill bit/countersink/counter bore kit from Lee Valley
Any recommendations on material/drill type/ease of sharpening?

2. My existing deck is 25 years old. The framing is 2x10 treated @ 16"
centers and upon inspection it looks very sound- no rot/soft spots.
I'm not sure how to evaluate how many years may be left in it. Of
course, I don't want to put a 40 year deck on a frame with 10-15 years
left on it. Does anyone have real experience with life expectancy of
1980 treated lumber vs. today's treated lumber? These joists look a
lot straighter than what I've seen lately at Home Depot. Cost to
reframe is ~$2500 using 2x8's.

Any and all advice from experienced ipe users is welcomed!
Thank you.

Well, I stand corrected, but I am a bit curios now. If it written as
(500ft)^2 would it then be what I was mistakenly thinking? Either way,
thanks for setting me straight on this point.



"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
Where I come from, square feet and feet squared mean two different things.
500' X 500' is 500 feet squared, 25' X 20' is 500 square feet. 10^2 is
100,

Nit pick: There is no such thing as "500 feet squared"
it is "500 feet square". Without the trailing 'd'.

not the sum of 2 X 5, but I may be more of a math nerd than a contractor,
so
perhaps ft^2 does equate to sqft 'round here.

If you _were_ a real math nerd, you'd know how wrong you are. grin

ft^2 is _universally_ understood in scientific and engineering circles to
mean 'square feet'.

When doing math involving terms with 'units' attached, the convention is
that you group the 'pure arithmetic' quantities first, and the consolidate
the 'units separately. and perform the indicated operations on each part.
thus "500 ft X 500 ft" is "500*500 ft*ft", or 250000 ft^2 (and read as
"2500 square feet.") an exponent in the 'units' does *NOT* apply to the
'arithmetic quantity' part of the expression.

This holds whether you are doing 'simple' things like distance/time =
velocity,
or messy stuff which could involve terms with units like "newton
meters/sec^2"




"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal,
ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

500 Feet squared is 500' X 500', that is one big deck. Do you mean 500
sqft?

25 ft * 20 ft == 25*20 ft*ft == 500 ft^2

ft^2 _is_ "square foot"

ft^3 is "cubic foot"

But, I figure you know all that, and are just jerking his chain.

"Rumpy" wrote in message
news
Well, I stand corrected, but I am a bit curios now. If it written as
(500ft)^2 would it then be what I was mistakenly thinking?

yes.

-j

In article , J wrote:
"Rumpy" wrote in message
news
Well, I stand corrected, but I am a bit curios now. If it written as
(500ft)^2 would it then be what I was mistakenly thinking?

yes.


yes^2 *snicker*

HSS combo bit and countersink would be the way to go. It will take half the
time and will be cheaper to replace as you wear the bit out. Drilling
really goes easily on Ipe. Use sharp carvbide Blades and cutting and sand
the edges of all the cuts.

I agree HSS will cut faster and last a long time.
Knight-Toolworks
http://www.knight-toolworks.com
affordable handmade wooden planes

On 26 Jun 2005 16:50:53 -0700, "Tattooed and Dusty"
wrote:

I just finished a small project working with Ipe for a client. While
most of the troubles I had won't apply to you, I will warn that I will
most likely never use the stuff again. It is by far the hardest,
densest, and foul material I have ever worked with.

Two router bits broken, half a dozen drill bits, and I need to replace
or sharpen every blade that touched the stuff.

HUH? I use it and other tropicals every day and get two months out of
a bi metal bandsaw blade 4 or months between blade sharpenings. 4
months or so on planer knives.
myself if I am machining wood I rather work with tropicals then
american woods.
Knight-Toolworks
http://www.knight-toolworks.com
affordable handmade wooden planes