treating posts old days

[bigred1951]

i was watching the waltons the other day and if you dont know the show they have a mill. Well they had a big pot over a fire with what looked like tar or oil in it and they was taking the rough sawn posts and dipping one end in the tar. Is that something they use to do it the old days to seal posts or what.

[bandmiller2]

Big Red that was probibly old black heavy creasoat. But realize these shows are written by liberal city boys that don't have a hint about what happens around farms and mills. Frank C.

[Bill Gaiche]

liberal city boys?? bg

[boscojmb]

Big Red that was probibly old black heavy creasoat.

Sounds like cerasoat to me. It was used to preserve wood up until the late 70's or early 80's. I had the pleasure of spraying it with a pump sprayer, under my parents deck in the late 70's. Nasty stuff. Today it is only used for RR ties and telephone poles. It has not been available to the pubilic since 1980+-

[boscojmb]

It causes cancer. Stay away from it!!

[beenthere]

It causes cancer.

Always?  or is just suspected to be a cause?

Here is what I read....

Creosote is the black goo that railroad ties are treated with. ... has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a probable carcinogen.

I'm under the impression that we don't really know what "causes cancer"..

[manoverboard]

Most things cause death in one way or another. Heck, many modern food additives cause cancer. The problem lies in the way these products are handled that cause concern. My issue is with the new "Green" crusade, now we are forced to use less effective products in the name of green.  Case in point, Thompsons water seal. Old formula 1 gallon went a long way, could be stored for years with no ill effects. New formula actually rolls off the wood, it gels up and gets cloudy after you open a can and I need 3x as much product to do the job. No more oil based paints or stains, even getting rid of the pressure treated chemicals we use know and substitute non-ground contact treated wood...So I have to ask if Green is actually better... OK i'm done lol

[scsmith42]

Creosote is pretty darn nasty!  It is a known carcinogen, and having worked a little around it I can believe it.  The use of it for dipping posts is probably historically accurate on the show too.

[leroy in kansas]

Well, I'd like to add a word or three.

When I was going to school, we had a practical experiment using Vaseline. Rubbed it on a lesion (sore) on a lab rat in excess several times a day and on another on a schedule of once a day very sparingly. After 3 weeks the rat that got the excess developed cancer in the lesion.
The lesion learned was that excess treatment with just about anything even as benign as Vaseline can cause cancer. Many products are removed from the market as having the potential of being carcinogenic in the interest of "Public Safety"
Is this practice right? or wrong? I don't have a clue. 

Leroy

[backwoods sawyer]

When I was growing up we always had two 55 gal drums half buried in the ground that we kept full of hand split wrc post soaking in "Penta" they were best when they soaked for several months.
A good many of these post are still in the ground today but you cant get penta no more :(