Jute Chinking Update - Pics

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did a sample packing on the shop floor. Not the best results (rushed job!), but they may show something of worth. No sealant was applied, for a completely finished result.... just the raw packing. The rope/twine could have been twisted a little tighter, before installing. No adhesive or nailing/tacking was installed, as these small samples are packed pretty tight enough.

My brother's exgirlfriend sold her house, so access to that floor isn't available (at the moment), if it was ever fixed. I'll inquire, further.

Additionally, I spoke to an oldtimer, still in business, who said packing floor gaps with jute, or similar, is rarely done anymore. He recalled packing floor gaps with plumbers waxed cording, the stuff plumbers used on cast iron piping. I remarked, that sounded similar to what was used to pack boat shaft boxing, long ago. He said it was the same stuff. He didn't recall the name of that packing and I don't know, either. As for as using a waxed cording, long ago, I'm sure floor finishing/refinishing techniques, if any in some of those cases, were different than now, allowing for the waxed cording in some cases.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny
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Oakum

basilisk

Reply to
basilisk

Would the word you are looking for be, by chance, OAKUM???

Reply to
clare

Probably the same as the oakum we used to pack horses feet when shoeing them with pads.

Reply to
Swingman

------------------------------- These days stuffing box packing is flax impregnated with teflon.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Do you notice a noticeable improvement in the seal with the newer stuff?

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Or looser and a caulking iron used.

Reply to
dadiOH

------------------------------ "RicodJour" wrote:

Do you notice a noticeable improvement in the seal with the newer stuff?

-------------------------- Repacking stuffing box was straight forward.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Probably similar in the packing job itself, but it seems to me that wax would move more and fill in gaps better when it heated up and flowed a bit. Then again, maybe the exact opposite. Just wondering if new is better than old or just new.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

what's the purpose of packing these cracks?

Reply to
Steve Barker

Long ago, floors may not have had a subflooring and gaps between floor boards allowed air to pass. In winters, this may not have been good. Gaps also allowed dust to enter the homes, to name a few reasons for packing gaps.

These more recent days, it's more for looks, but there are good reasons, otherwise. An unsightly gap or blemish, in any floor, is not always wanted. A "defect" in a brick floor would be unsightly. In plank or general wood floors, even with a subfloor below, dust can collect in wider than normal gaps. A floor with gaps allows the cleaning fluid, moisture, etc. to seep into the gap.... not to mention if a pet urinates on the floor, whereas long ago seldom were pets indoors.

Plugging/filling these kinds of gaps is similar to filling nail holes or filling behind a countersunk nail, also, i.e., filling a hole.... as long as the filler is flexible with expansion & contraction of the floor.

If a reasonable color match, filler vs flooring, can be achieved relatively inexpensively, all the better.

Most floors, today, are installed with fewer gaps. Older floors (and today's floors, where the installer is not so precise) sometimes need a touchup.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

Thanks for the reply.

Reply to
Steve Barker

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