just wondering, evidently the beams are 18' long, douglas fir bridge timbers that have been soaked in creosote. beams are tapered... owner wants them squared and fresh on 4 sides.
anything special I need to know? (besides the fact that creosote is carcinogenic)
As you said creosote is a carcinogen. Avoid it at any cost!
Resawed creosote telephone poles and railroad ties. Was recommended use diesel fuel for lube. Worked great. Not sure if that's the cleanest way to go.
have done Creosote power poles and a few new rail road ties. Deisel works best for lube but I have stopped sawing it as the environmental ministry is on the look out for any of that stuff to get it out of the system. I just buck the poles above cerosote line and leave for the owners to deal with. I wont touch them any more. IF you are in the BC Caribou run like hell dont even think about touching them with any kind of a blade. IF they are sound you could still continue to use them a few years ago but I would not be surprised if that has changed in the last few years. If they have to be removed it is a very nasty process to get approval for as disposal has to be handled by a certified handler and disposal has to be documented and reported back the BC environment.
DONT touch Creosote anything any where in BC. Phone the BC gov and let them bear the headache.
If you have children around I would not do it. HAZARDOUS
Sawed used (creosoted) utility poles for years and years; bridge flooring, trailer decking, cattle guards, pole barns, cattle corrals, fence posts, etc, etc. When I first got the mill, I had to buy 'em; later on, made a deal with the district 'head-linesman' (may not have been his title) for THE major power distribution company in the Southern USA. I had a pasture they could easily get to and they'd just drop off the poles they'd recently pulled. Some of 'em were HUGE. Most of the cross-country lines have had the poles replaced with metal ones and I no longer get/need the used ones. I completely covered up while sawing, including a GOOD respirator/mask; mine is a circle mill and the stuff sawed no better or worse than anything else I sawed, except...........depending where the poles came from, some of 'em WOULD have hardware in them.
Sawed "a couple" for a guy. Showed up with a gooseneck trailer load. Wore old cloths, long sleeve shirt, and wore breathing filter mask. Sawed them in loglot and scooped up the sawdust an took it far away. Trashed the clothes.
Miserable. Never do it again.
I made one cut through one tie and I hope that's the last I ever see of the stuff. Nasty smelly sticky mess.
Quote from: Bibbyman on July 20, 2012, 03:55:20 PM
Sawed "a couple" for a guy. Showed up with a gooseneck trailer load. Wore old cloths, long sleeve shirt, and wore breathing filter mask. Sawed them in loglot and scooped up the sawdust an took it far away. Trashed the clothes.
Miserable. Never do it again.
Well Folks......I guess this should answer ALL questions. :D
I did it once that that was many years ago. :-\
It's a much discussed topic here, with many many threads started over the years, and the consensus has always been not to do it, with a few "go for its" thrown in by a few devil may care opinions. :)
okay, thanks.
I hope this isn't a redundant question too, though I suspect it will turn out that way, does douglas fir ever behave this badly?
https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=4297&pid=117212#top_display_media
https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=4297&pid=117213#top_display_media
You sure know how to pick up the "good" jobs...
Good the jobs are yours and not mine.
I milled some large creosote treated bridge timbers after two years of dragging my feet. Turns out that they milled fine. Caught one small nail. I keep a collection of damaged blades for this purpose. The nail strike was just part of the process. The bolts had been removed. I did it for a friend, on his dime. I would not do it for a business venture even if the timbers were free. It am unlikely to do it again. It is not something to enjoy.
Kderby
I worked offshore with a guy who has a mill and he sawed creosoted bridge timbers into planks for a fence around his place.
I could always tell when he had been sawing on his days off because he would comeback to work with his face blistered badly. It seems that even with precautions, the creosoted sawdust would find a way to his uncovered face. He looked pitiful from it and I would not do it.
I sawed a few weathered utility poles last year. I have a few to do for myself. I do NOT want to do very many or more than a couple times a year.
It is a very messy job for you, your place, and the mill. I cover up well, collect all the sawdust and burn it, and only saw with a strong breeze at my back.
I was not able to saw through the part of the pole that was in the ground and still had a lot of creasote in it.
I sawed 27 foot bridge timbers from a rail road company they were bolted togather with inch bolts. I knocked them apart and sawed every one if I remember rightly I sawed over a hundred 27 foot two by tens. I felt it was a great job but then again I was a electrical lineman for thirty years and creosote burns from climbing poles all day was just part of the life.
I used to repair Pioneer 650`s that CN Rail kept just for cutting old ties. I hated them, they dirty to work on.
I tried it once, took precautions, but got pretty good burns on my forearms. Finally got most of it off by washing in alchohol, which only made the experience more memorable. Now when somebody asks me to saw poles, I just send them to my competitors :D
YH
I sawed one yesterday for myself. I needed a foundation to rest on the ground for a lumber rack under my barn shed. I wore a dust mask, covered the ground with a tarp and sawed 2 opposing flats. I needed the foundation, I didn't want to use my nice cedar logs and I had the utility pole laying on the ground so I sawed it. I wouldn't take a job doing it and I won't seek out another one for myself. There!
Bob
Did once never again :D :D but will use them the way they come, round :D I put them in for my mill shed. work good :D :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22511/2948/132.JPG) you can see how I use them, there 6' in the ground
Quote from: Peter Drouin on July 21, 2012, 09:37:45 PM
Did once never again :D :D but will use them the way they come, round :D I put them in for my mill shed. work good :D :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22511/2948/132.JPG) you can see how I use them, there 6' in the ground
that's a nice looking setup you have there. :)
I cut butt dipped poles above the creosote area.
Penta treated poles are just as bad and I'm sure bad for you too.
Here's the lumber rack I built w/ the creosote beams I sawed. It rests on the beams and free floats at the top thru a bracket on the shed rafters. 16' long and expandable as needed.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13036/lumber_rack_004.jpg)
I worked for a demolition waste recycling facility that took on a project with the state of NH to grind up any type of lumber with creasote in it. We had to keep water running the entire time we were grinding the stuff and run a skeleton crew. We ran Saturdays only and for about 6 hours tops. In less than a month and a half people started getting sick and that was with the correct breathing gear. The stuff will kill you quick when you start getting it airborn. The state shut the project down quick after the first few people got sick. The smell was absolutely horrible too, you could smell it for a couple miles from the facility. I had one person call and ask us if we would mill some bridge timbers and my reply was sorry but we can't do that.
I was a Piledriver for 25 years. I drove 10's of thousands of creasote piling, 60' and under for buildings, treatment plants.( I also drove H pile, concrete, mandrel, pipe, Southern long leaf pine, sheet pile)
When it was cold it wasn't to bad, but when it was hot and the piling just came from the batch plant, it was miserable to work with.
We would drive them with a diesel hammer-Linkbelt 440 or an air hammer-9B3. The creasote would fly.
We would some times put Noxema or Vaseline on to help protect your skin.
After they were driven to bearing, then you cut them off to grade with a chainsaw.
Personally I think your a bunch of wimps :D
Quote from: den on July 26, 2012, 01:49:21 PM
I was a Piledriver for 25 years. I drove 10's of thousands of creasote piling, 60' and under for buildings,
Personally I think your a bunch of wimps :D
I view as how much of my life am I giving up to cut these things. It's a lot like smoking tobbaco. I don't do that either.