Treated poles and creosote poles

[gator gar]

Other than the possibility of dust contaminants and problems with disposal of slabs and accumulated dust, is there any actual problems sawing these poles into lumber?? Do the bandsaws handle the job of cutting pretty good?? I've got a guy with some 50 foot treated and creosote power line poles he wants cut into lumber. As many respirator "Fit" test that I have done in the last 3 weeks, I'm getting real used to wearing one, along with long sleeve FRCs and Nomex for protection. What is your take on sawing this type of wood. I'm sure it will be all SYP down here in Texas.

Mark

[Faron]

I have been sawing some poles for a customer.  I am not wild about doing it, but it really isn't all that bad.  We don't saw the bottom post that has been in the ground, and is full of creosote.  We have sawed enough 2" lumber for an addition to his barn.

[gator gar]

I have been sawing some poles for a customer.  I am not wild about doing it, but it really isn't all that bad.  We don't saw the bottom post that has been in the ground, and is full of creosote.  We have sawed enough 2" lumber for an addition to his barn.

Do you charge a little extra for the trouble, or the same price as the rest of it?

[ErikC]

  Those poles are a little more trouble in a couple ways, in my limited experience with them. There is a lot of grit stuck in all the weather cracks so the blades will dull faster, and they are hard and dry, so tougher cutting anyway. With the swingmill it was ok, but I noticed it. Might be harder on a bandmill blade. May be worth a few bucks more per thousand.
  On the up side they are uniform in size, no crook or sweep, and not usually that heavy.

[Larry]

In the very butt of the pole there is normally a "date nail" along with a couple to staples for the ground wire.  Saw 4" off to get rid of the junk and heavy creosote.  BTW, date nails are collectable and some are worth a bit.  Make sure somebody else pulls all the staples and junk out...or charge by the hour.

Where the pole transitions from above ground to below ground sometimes they will saw differently...especially on the big sticks.

Big high line poles are mostly WRC from what I've seen.  The "birthmark" on the pole will denote species, treatment, and a lot of other info.  The poles are dry enough they can be sawed in about any pattern with few warp concerns.  I mostly sawed 2 X 6's.  Cut 6" thick flitches and then re-stack/turn so I could saw 3-2 X 6's at a time.  Never edged one board because the deep cracks would hold grit, and gravel dulling blades fast...if there was wane on a board it went to the disposal pile.  More than 2,000 bf days were common...and I have a manual mill.

Most of the cedar went for decks...I had a 30" planner sat up just to surface one side.  SYP went for pole barn construction lumber, but I never sawed much of it and production was a lot less.  The treatment/creosote will leach out of the lumber for years...make sure the lumber does not go into a residence and I've had second thoughts about using it in pole barns.

[Magicman]

I sawed some bridge timbers into lumber....once.    I turned down another bridge timber job last week.

They were heavily creosoted, and the band accumulated a fairly thick coat of creosote.  Maybe diesel or something for blade lube/cleaner would have helped, but I will not cut any again.

[red oaks lumber]

fool me once shame on me! won't be no second vurse for this saying! i won't cut any "poles" i dont care how nice the wood is, creasote is some nasty danG

[hogs4hobby]

power poles, they make great lumber & are the reason i went with the lucas mill. I can uselly get about 3000ft of lumber out of 1 blade before having to change blades. my favorit cut is butt cut the part that is in the ground due to know weather cracks, make the best lumber & barn post. i could go on & on about the good things about them & i saw alot of them.

but they is some things that everyone needs to know before you plan to saw them. I work for a power company so work with the poles on a daily basis. most if not all power companys has a contractor that goes through there intire system checking the poles at ground line for rot & insect damaged. the poles that fit the bill gets fumagated with a very, very , very bad dangerous chemical. not sure of the name of it but it comes in an aluminum vial. they drill a hole in pole anywhere from ground 1' below to 3' above groundline an insert the vial into the pole . then plug the hole with a wooden peg. this chemical last for 4years & is very, very bad.
so beware of these poles if you are not sure what you got cut it off 5' above ground line. the poles should have a small aluminun tag on them with contractors name & date of inspect & fumagation on it about chest high.
  the treatment in the poles does not hold a light to the dangers of this fumagation.

[Larry]

hogs4hobby brought up an excellent point about fumigants in poles.  You should always know what you are doing and what risk you will be taking.

So...here you go. Osmose  It's a small pdf but does take a bit to load.

BTW, I tried to saw through that drill he was using in the first picture...never made it.

[red oaks lumber]

hogs4hobby,
do you glow in the dark yet? serious dude that is some bad danG. i have probobly cut 100 poles not worth it no how no way.

[Brucer]

Ten years ago the local power company increased it's distribution voltage from 2400 V to 25,000 V. They had to replace all the WRC poles with longer ones. A contractor was hired to remove and grind up the creosoted butts -- he got to keep the untreated tops. Five years later when I appeared on the scene, he wanted me to turn the tops into landscaping timbers and such.

I was just getting started and eager to saw anything for money. But after checking out those poles I declined. Too much metal, too much embedded grit, and dry WRC is very hard on blades even without the grit. WRC can be toxic by itself and often triggers allergies.

My competitor wouldn't touch them either. Just not worth the hassle.

[Faron]

I have been sawing some poles for a customer.  I am not wild about doing it, but it really isn't all that bad.  We don't saw the bottom post that has been in the ground, and is full of creosote.  We have sawed enough 2" lumber for an addition to his barn.

Do you charge a little extra for the trouble, or the same price as the rest of it?

It is probably worth a little more money.  In my case, this is for a very good customer, and we have become friends to boot, so no, I didn't charge extra.  He did a very good job of cleaning the posts up.  The biggest complaint I have is the residual smell.  I like my enclosed mill building to smell like cherry, or cedar, or oak, but defiantly not creosote!

[bandmiller2]

Sometimes its worth cutting utility poles but most of the time its better to use them whole.Whats fine are the top arms on highline poles their the very best grade of durable stable wood and if remilled look like new.Frank C.

[thecfarm]

IF,and that's a big IF,IF I was going to do it,from what I heard other's say,I would charge him for every blade that I used,saw them at his place,does he have a air compressor to blow down your saw mill? You don't want to bring that sawdust to other customer's land.Charge him for the respirator,filters too and change him for all your clothes too.Change by the hour a good rate and than see if he still wants it done. Remember there's a lot of bad stuff that will be flying around in the air getting on your skin.