Mark,
I wish I had that diamond tough finish on my hardwood floors, but I digress.
...back to your quandary.
When refinishing hardwood floors, often an industrial duty belt sander is used to remove the existing finish(es) and smooth the hardwood. It sounds as though a handheld belt sander may be your quickest, cheapest or only solution to salvaging that wood gloat.
A drum sander would possibly work but IMHO that finish would probably dull several planer blades and compound your frustration.
Have you considered utilizing the wood with the existing color and finish for your projects?
Personally I would shelve it and bring it back out when I come across just the right project for it and be ‘tickled to death’ to have eliminated the finishing steps on a project for once.
...just a thought :-)
Work Safely and have Fun. – Grandpa Len
-- Mother Nature should be proud of what you've done with her tree. - Len ...just north of a stone's throw from the oHIo, river that is, in So. Indiana.
