Milling Tolerances for Herringbone Flooring

How much length variation from piece to piece is acceptable in herringbone wood flooring? March 28, 2015

Question
What are some general tolerances in the length of a herringbone floor. It is a 4" floor and the length is 24". We are experiencing some minor deviation in the lengths as they come out of our linear endmatcher. It is a very rustic floor out of reclaimed material so a little gapping would not be the end of the world. I just don't know how far off it could be before it starts causing major issues. Of course the width is within .005. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Forum Responses
(Architectural Woodworking Forum)
From contributor S:
Just 0.005 in difference from maximum to minimum you should be fine so long as the room is not exceptionally large. The widths will vary more than that with seasonal changes regardless. My experience is that variations under 0.01 are workable except in the very smallest (2.25 x 9) or on very large projects. If you’re still worried I'd rack out 30-40 square feet in the shop and make sure your able to keep the corners square.