Christophern, it's nice to know that there are people close buy that have the same interests. I actually live in PA. My husband was doing some landscaping at Fort Ritchey and was told they were going to tear down the pavillions to make way for a new road. DH asked the supervisor in charge of the project if he could salvage some of the boards, and after many hours of hard labor we salvaged a good deal of the top of one of the pavillions. The security guys apparently didn't like us working there so the pavillions were knocked down and buried. Tons of beautiful yellow pine tongue and groove boards destroyed. Many of the boards were 14 to 16 feet long. That kind of broke my heart, but we have our own little piece of history to put in our home. Thanks, mightyanvil, for the table. I had no idea that yellow pine was so soft. I haven't tested any stains to see what they would look like, but I think I will give that a try. Right now I have some old barn boards as a chair rail in my living room that will have to come out. I kind of hope we can do it carefully to save them. That makes me think that I should start with the kitchen. Until the living room is gutted and redone, it would look odd there.

mquinn, While there may be an outside chance the that the milling operation was sloppy, you really can't compare the tight, smooth, level plane of a hardwood floor to a deck or porch surface. In simplest terms, wood moves. No matter how good your milling operation is, asking to have your ipe porch as tight and level as, say a fine table top or sheet of glass is asking a bit much. The porch has to conform to temperature and humidity ranges in the extremes compared to what is happening inside in a more controlled environment. One way woodworkers get around situations like this is to understand and accept the inevitable, knowing that the wood has to perform in a non-perfect climate. While it's too late to change now, I have seen and used T&G that have the edges chamfered or "eased". It accentuates the joints and they actually become more of a design element rather than trying to hide them. You could always sand the deck down. While I have sanded hardwood floors, I'm not an expert. I'm not sure how well this would work on your porch and I would hate to see it ruined. I have a feeling though that the sanding would only be a temporary fix and your "lips" would show up again over time from the wood movement. Good luck

Sure. But, the last board(s) will need to be face nailed to secure them if the popin fit does not work---since the way to install the last T&G board in the middle is to cut off the bottom of the groove so the board sets against the tongue of the abutting board. 18 gauge finish nails in a pnuematic nailer leave very small holes, which will be virtually invisible when filled.

I am sorry to be so late with a "thank you reply" to both of you. Couple of things came up for me including MIL in the Intensive Care Unit. Anyway, I learned something from both your replies. Never heard of the Watco Danish Oil but will look into it. Brickeyee, I would guess? that there was originally a shellac finish on this wood. In the places where we remove pictures and such that have been there forever, there is a shiny finish. Everywhere else there is no shine at all. Good thing about an old lake cottage like this is that it's rustic.....beat to heck and back is not a bad thing. Our biggest challenge has been renovating the stinkin kitchen and bath and trying not to get either one too new or prissy. With these pine walls, I just want them cleaned and conditioned. Thanks for your replies, pup