Cutting old power poles

[Oldsawdust]

I have some one who wants me to saw some old power poles  ???
what problems have you great forum sawers had with power pole
It is raining so no saw milling today.  :( :(

[thurlow]

I've cut hundreds....maybe more; FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT........CREOSOTE IS CARCINOGENIC;  TAKE ADEQUATE PRECAUTIONS.  Depending on where they came from, they may be full of staples, where folks have posted yard sale signs.  Not at all unusual to have other hardware inside.  They make great lumber for trailer flooring, corrals, etc;  just make sure you go into this with your eyes WIDE OPEN.

[Skip]

Depends on what the poles are treated with, creosote is bad stuff ,causes eye and throat irratations,inorganic arsenic is no fun . Watch out for nails, staples , bullets. But they can be nice , couple of barns around here made out of them, charge accordingly.

[Oldsawdust]

Is the creosote poles harder on the equipment than other dry wood?
thanks for your info.

[thurlow]

Mine's a circle mill and I can't tell any difference;  with carbide tipped teeth and cutting WOOD ONLY, they last a long time.  Can't speak to these new-fangled  ;D type mills..............

[leweee]

more info here.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=18634.0

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=17708.0

[mike_van]

The most common treatments - creosote [brown to black, stinks]  CCA [green, stinks]  or pentachlorophenol   [brown to tan stinks too]  Are all bad for you, if you saw these, you should look like one of those asbestos abatement guys. I've sawn some for myself, but won't for the going rates of sawing.  They get their lumber or beams, cheap compared to the lumber yard, and you get what? Cancer, tumors? Lung problems?  The stuff sucks, I can't say it any planer.  I worked on poles for 35 years, climbed, sawed, drilled, put out fires in them.  There's nothing good about that wood.  When CCA first came out in poles this rep. at a saftey meeting said to us "this stuffs so safe you can anything you want with it"  Safe compared to what? Plutonium?  I guess it's safe, it's off the market.  So, tell the  guy sure, i'll saw those poles, 100.00/hr.        The last several years here in Ct. we wern't allowed to give them away anymore, they were classified as "hazardous waste" We had to bring them back to the yard, cut 'em into 4' piececs, and load a seperate dumpster. I have no idea where they went.

[beenthere]

And a lot of the fear of these chemicals is "drive-by media hype", in my opinion. But that won't change anything, and all chemicals should be treated with the same regard.   

[getoverit]

Ive sawn up about 2,000 of them into lumber and fence posts.

The woodmizer silvertip blades seem to work best on the bandmill for cutting power poles. Using the swingmill, they are a pain to keep still because they have no bark and are slippery an dont stay put in the notched bunks very well. Also, the part of the pole that was underground is usually heavier in treatment, so this will gum up your blade very quickly and is also more prone to causing contact problems because of the higher amount of chemicals. 

The only problem you may run into is that someone may object to you cutting them and get the EPA involved. The poles are legal, the lumber is legal, but dealing with the sawdust generated may prove to be a problem. Some believe that the sawdust is "hazardous waste." For this reason, I will not cut them on *MY* property, and make sure that the owner of the poles understands that any responsibility for cleaning up the sawdust is HIS alone. I charge $.35/bdft for cutting them. Any that show up with metal are not sawn (metal detector). I dont offbear the lumber or handle the poles... this is the owners responsibility.

Personally, the only one I will not cut is a pentatreated pole. The stink stays with you forever.

[Jason_WI]

I only sawed them once and vowed never again. Life is too short as it is. The few bux you might make now you will pay for dearly later on in life. I would pass on the deal.

Jason

[sawguy21]

Creosote and the grit acompanying it really make a mess of blades and chains. I have cut used guardrail posts (never again) and threw the chains away. They were older and I didn't figure the cleaning and sharpening were worth the effort.

[Percy]

It is raining so no saw milling today.  :( :(

Heya Oldsawdust
Raining would be an asset when cutting these poles up. When I cut some, I set the mill up so the wind was at my back, made fat slabs and turned the log so I was cutting into a clean face as much as possible. That creosote crap attracts dust(Im thinkin)and the blades dulled real fast. I hadda rash on my arms from packin the wood and coffed up gross lookin loogies and decided I was never gonna do it again. It was a big job(week +) and I didnt charge enuff. I eventually threw the clothes I was wearin away. If it had been raining, the dust would have been minimal and that might  have helped a little. That was years ago and Im still alive...heh...  ;D