Ripping Pressure Treated Wood

[AggieSawDust]

So part of my buddy's fence collapsed last week. Being a sucker for people in need, I volunteered my services.

Here's my (our) dilemma:

The original fence builders placed one of the fence posts further than

8 feet from the previous post. We'd gotten off easy by using prebuilt fence panels from Lowes until this point. These panels are WRC dog eared planks attached (nailed of course, why don't people screw these in?) to three pressure treated rails, and you guessed it, they are 8 feet long. So the problem is, I can't find this weird dimensioned rails anywhere, so I'm looking at ripping some PT 2x4s to length and height.

My questions:

Is it a good idea to rip PT on my table saw (everything I've heard says no)?

If not, anyone have any good ideas on how to accurately rip some PT

2x4s to size using a circ saw or possibly a jig saw (don't have a bandsaw yet)?

The goal here is obviously an accurately and safely milled rail. However, I'd like to do my best to keep this dust outta my lungs and shop.

Thanks!

[Dave Balderstone]

Two questions, & two points...

What do you mean by "length and height"?

You can buy PT 1X and plywood. They may work.

If your saw is stationary, do you know someone with a benchtop that you could use outside?

To do it with a circ saw, I'd think you're looking at building a jig from a sheet of ply and a straight edge.

[David]

Could you tell your buddy that you underestimated the issues involved, due to the health risk, etc. I wouldn't breathe that stuff and run it through my shop equipment just to be neighborly!!

Dave

[AggieSawDust]

Sorry, I typo'd length (as that would be a cross cut). I meant height and width. The rails are 1 1/8" wide by 2 5/8" tall... I need longer than 8 feet.

I have been unable to find 1x PT... that would definitely work.

I do have a stationary cabinet saw... don't know anyone with a benchtop.

I was trying to work out some plans for a jig for a circ saw. Just curious if anyone has had to do something similar with out a TS.

[Phisherman]

Make the cuts outdoors. I use a circular saw + respirator. My major issue with PT lumber is that it is so wet--as it dries it cups, twists, bows. I get around this by stickering, clamping. and LOTS of patience!

[Duane Bozarth]

Any decent lumber yard will have whatever you want in 1x in 1x4, x6, x8 up to 14 ft lengths and 1x4 and 1x6 probably up to 16'.

But, I don't ken what dimensions for a rail are "wide" and "tall"--I can think of "thick" and "wide", but not "tall". And neither of the dimensions you provide matches a standard 1x thickness which would be

3/4" nominally.

What's the deal w/ cutting the stuff, anyway? I do it any time I need to and it does nothing bad to the equipment whatsoever. Simply don't leave a piece laying on a table overnight and clean up piles of damp sawdust and you'll never know the difference.

[bridger]

if you rip a pressure treated 2x4 in half you will expose the untreated core, defeating the purpose of the pressure treatment.

the rest of the fence is western red cedar, right? why not use that?

[Duane Bozarth]

That's the point of the pressure treatment to impregnate the material through and through...

[bridger]

having been a carpenter for lotsa years I've cut my share of it.

maybe a couple of times I've seen pieces where the treatment made it to the center. most of the time it's 1/4" or less deep.

[Fred]

I saw Norm rip PT in his shop all the time and I've done it a few times myself. Don't know about the new stuff that would eat up nails. You don't need PT if its not on/in the ground or subjected to standing water and you could treat it with a copper solution after you've ripped the non PT.

[Lawrence Wasserman]

I've ripped some PT on my table saw a few times and I'm still alive. Seriously, for cutting just the 3 rails you need for one fence section I wouldn't be overly concerned. Take all the precautions you can to minimize airborne dust and wear a good respirator.

[Wes Stewart]

Doesn't happen.

[Lawrence Wasserman]

If the OP buys good quality, SYP PT lumber it will be treated all the way through. I've seen some old PT that wasn't and some PT that wasn't southern yellow pine that wasn't treated all the way through, but at least here in Md, all the SYP PT stocked at HD and at lumber yards for the last 15 years or more has always been treated to the center. (At least it appears so visually)

[David]

Was it wet and clog up the insides of your TS? I spent quite a bit of time removing the very wet sawdust from the tilt mechanism after ripping a few wet 2x4's.

Dave

[fredfighter]

I ripped a bevel on a PT SYP 4 x 4 for a neighbor using a circular saw with a fence.

I have since convinced my beighbor to constrain his designs to use standard widths and thicknesses.

It can be done but:

1) It generates a lot of sawdust. 2) To the extent that PT puts more wear on a blade, ripping puts a lot more on. 3) Not all PT is completely treated all the way through. Yes, it is all SUPPOSED to be.

[Lawrence Wasserman]

Now that you mention it, I have a small stack of PT lumber stored under my front porch. Most of it is 2-3 years old. I'd certainly be leery of using "fresh" PT because of the moisture.

[no(SPAM)vasys]

Sink another post at the 8' mark.

[Tom Banes]

I frame all my duck blinds with PT 2X4 ripped in half to nominal 2X2. Been doing it for 30 years. I use a circular saw with the standard edge guide, carbide tipped blade, do it out doors and wear a mask. It works fine. Yeh, the stuff is usually wet. Yeh, it will tend to warp. Make your cut, nail or screw it up, and hope the weight of the fence boards keep the warp to a minimum This is not precision work! It's fence, not a cabinet.

Regards.

[fredfighter]

Around here they have been selling PT 2 x 2 for quite some time. They tend to be warped worse than the 2 x 4s.

[David]

I've never seen any type of wood twist as much after installation as a PT 4x4. One local fence company that I spoke with didn't want to use them for a number of years due to complaints from customers. After that conversation, I used some PT 4x4 and came face to face with what the fence company owner was talking about. I have a gate that stopped closing within weeks of installation because the hinge post had twisted so much that there was no clearance for the gate to close. Some of the other posts I'd installed also had an obvious twist to them. I never had that trouble with untreated redwood 4x4's but the termites loved them.

Dave