I have six pieces of pressure treated 8"x8" railroad ties (8' long) that I need to cut into short, 8"-10" long sections. What is the best way to go about it? I can't use my compound miter saw with such a large cross section, and I am not sure I can get a clean cut with a circular saw (not with my skill level). Any suggestions?
Thanks,
MC
Used ties? Get a saw from someone you hate. Or take your garden variety bowsaw or crosscut and do it. Lots of grit in there, and then there's the treatment. Neither will make the job easy nor improve the saw.
Hey MC, I have similar thoughts to George's reply but here is a method for cutting timbers larger than a saws cutting depth; Make a fence around the sides of the timber to guide your circular saw on all four sides. After cutting you will be left with a small nib that can be cut with a hand saw or recipricating saw. That last cut won't be perfectly smooth but the edges will look nice. Hold your breath for each cut! Seriously, wear some type of respiraory protection. Maybe wet down the area so the dust/chips don't blow away. Would your miter saw be able to make a contiguous starter kerf on each face? If so, that's a simial approach to my first suggestion. Marc
Heh, I cut the tops off a bunch of 4x4's when I built a fence for my last house. Since the holes were not all dug at exactly the same depth, I decided to just put all the posts in and when the concrete base dried, cut the tops off all of them to a standard height. I just made a square "jig" out of wood and slipped it over the top of the post and screwed it in at the right height. That served as a clamped edge guide that I ran my circular saw across all the way around the post. It worked great! I'll bet my neighbors were wondering what the bleep I was doing, but I did get great results.
I would do the same for these timbers, but I would probably not subject any of my saws to that. Assum> Hey MC,
Hire a chain saw and appropriate protective equipment including the kevlar quilted trousers (V. important). The cut will be OK for rustic garden use. If you are making fine furniture, you need some different wood.
to cut into short,
compound miter saw with
circular saw (not with my
Even a small-ish chainsaw will do that without a problem. Hint: mark out top, front and back to get a nice square cut with a chainsaw.
-P.
Among the other suggestions is a portable band saw, which you can rent at many tool rental centers, or buy for less than $150 if you have frequent need for one.
Are these real rail road ties? That is, the type preserved with creosote? If so be aware that they often have steel embedded in the ends to stop splitting which presents a hazard when sawing. Also be aware the creosote is nasty stuff so wear a dust mask and gloves.
On the other hand, if they are just PT (green wood) there is no steel embedded in the ends but the mask and gloves are still warranted.
How clean a cut do you need for landscaping? I'd be inclined to use a speed square and circular saw coming in from all four sides and finish it off with a hand saw. Worst case you can clean the cut up with a sharp chisel.
John
Boy, you guys sure have different experiences with railroad ties than I do. They eat tools for breakfast and destroy men and muscle by lunch. These things are full of rocks, sand, grit, and creosote - none of which lend themselves to anything I want my tools working on.
The best suggestion to date: Cheap blades in a circular saw, finished off with a hand bowsaw. Don't plan on many cuts per blade. A carbide chainsaw blade at about $70 will give the most cuts, but is only effective if you are paying for labor. You will destroy a regular chain in a very few cuts. A have tried a gasoline cut off saw with a fiber blade which can take the abuse. Smokes a lot, but actually isn't bad. I've not ever found what I would call a good solution.
Time for a brand new saw blade ... from HF.
Hmmm, when I bought this property I inherited some railroad-tied garden features with it. Not my style. So I pulled them out and cut them up. No they didn't eat my tools, but definitely 'yes' to the destroy men and muscle bit: Aussie hardwood, about as heavy as concrete of the same dimensions it felt like .... ;-)
It's definitely a good idea to give them a good hosing off first and get dirt, and stones out and see what else might be in there. I didn't just grab the saw and start cutting.
-P.
Many years ago built some flower beds using creosote impregnated railroad ties and lucky stones.
A hand pruning saw did the job, but I was young and ambitious back then.
Lew
Many years ago (32 or so) I landscaped with used railroad ties, loaded with grit, rocks, and such (no spikes). I bought an electric chain saw with what was called a "baracuda" chain. Probably spent $99 on the thing. It went thru a significant number of ties, mostly cut to 3' lengths but with many short pieces standing tall in the landscape with trunctated tops (45 degree cuts all around with a flat on the top).
ABSOLUTELY no problems! One technique I used was to put the "rocky side" down so that debris might shake loose. I didn't intentionally cut into stones, but from time to time I'd hit one and it didn't damage the chain.
A rough estimate is that I made well over 80 cuts thru the whole ties, plus untold number of "truncations," all with the same chain.
Still have the same saw, though don't use it too often. About five years ago I replaced the original chain.
Oh, and the saw is a Craftsman, bought from Sears.
Jim Stuyck
Build a saddle that |__| fits exactly over the 8x8 and use that as your edge to cut against with the circular saw.
Finish up with a "hand saw"....(sort of neanderthal) but it still works....
MiamiCuse wrote:
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.