Carpentry and Woodworking - Ironwood II

I posted this in the exotic flooring forum, but it's dead over there:(, so I am reposting here, since there are more passer's by.
<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> Went by one of our surplus stores on Friday to see about the availability of some paneling to match a job I was bidding on. The guy showed me what I needed, then directed me to a shed out back. There, very neatly was several pallets of air stacked full 1" T&G wax ended ironwood. Of course I salivated at the smell and sight. I have about 300 sf of my cabin left to floor. Anyone had any experience at laying this stuff? Use a flooring stapler? Drill and individually insert nails? Cutting it (bet it will spark)? They want $2 per sf for it. Let me know what you know.

Never used the stuff, but sounds like it would outlast the 'cabin'. If it is like Ipe, better stock up on saw blades and drill bits.

Thanks for the response, Bill. I was beginning to think I scared everyone off. In my research, they refer to IPE, and to it being extremely hard. It is used for decks, I believe, too. I just thought the price was good for a hardy species of wood, but not having dealt with it before, I was hoping someone had done so.

Because the ends are waxed and not T&G, as most interior flooring is, installation will be a little more problematic. It is not uncommon to use this as an exterior decking material, the 1" thickness is more typical for decks with 3/4 being the indoor standard. Having installed 1000's of sq ft of this as decking, And built furniture with it. Basic carbide cutting blades will be fine, but the high Silica content will dull them at 4-5 times the rate for most hardwoods. Pre-drilling for deck screws is a must...If installed inside I would recommend to mill a T&G edge to the ends. As butt joints may not sit fully on the subfloor. Sanding will be the hardest part as this stuff is one of the hardest (janka rating of 3680, red oak is 1290)

Janka Hardness Scale | Wood Species | Hardwood Tree Species Common in Flooring (http://www.floormall.com/janka-rating-wood-species/)

Moisture content should be checked...Ipe needs lots of time to Air dry..and can shrink a bit if not fully dry..less than 10% is pretty much a standard.

Kevin

Not sure what happened, but good info from the banned member. Thanks anyway. Just for information to others tuning in, I do plan on T&G the ends. I have a tenoning jig on my shop table saw, and can do it as fast as my guys can lay it, hopefully. One set should do it. We'll see.