Best way to cut RR ties?

[BarryinMN]

I'd like to cut a RR tie in 1/2 to add weight to a 8' disc.
It looks like there is a metal ribbon in it + the tar. I'm leery of attacking it with a chainsaw.

 

[Bird]

Barry, I'm not going to say for sure, but to the best of my knowledge, those metal ribbons are only driven a few inches into the end of the tie. If you stay 6" or more from the end, you shouldn't find any metal. Now of course it's been a few years since I cut some of them with a chainsaw, so if they're newer ones, I could be wrong.

 

[chim]

Never cut any real ties myself, just the pressure treated stuff. My guess would be the "tar" could be cleaned up with some kerosene or paint thinner if it gummed things up.

One thing to be careful with is exposure to the dust and chips as well as the stuff that looks like tar. A friend developed a really nasty rash on his forearms after working in some mulch that reportedly had ground-up RR ties mixed in. At one time they used creosote as a treatment for the ties................chim

 

[ronjhall]

The "S" cleats in the end of ties are about 2" deep. Stay away from area where rail spikes were. Sometimes there is a broken one in the hole.
Be sure to cover all skin as others have mentioned. If you get creosote on your skin and are out in the sun. You can get a very bad burn. Creosote fumes have bothered my sinuses unless I wear some type of breathing protection.

 

[beenthere]

Let us know how it works out. As mentioned, the 'S' irons in the ends are only an inch or so long, and meant to contain the end checks. Hopefully you have an old chain to use in your saw.

As a college student, worked in the summer climbing poles with creosote, no shirt, with just boot spikes. One shouldn't slip and slide on a creosote pole, as the slivers get right in under the skin. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Hugged creosote all summer long.

 

[bher]

I use a chainsaw and have never hit anything yet. If you are concerned, use a sawzall. It will take much longer, but hitting metal is less of a concern.

 

[jmc]

Some people who own chainsaws that have a really nasty sawing job go out and rent another chainsaw to do the dirty work. They figure its cheaper in the long run.

 

[markct]

when i had to cut some railroad ties last fall what i did was cut as deep as i could with a skilsaw with a junky carbide blade on it, went from both sides so i only had an inch and a half or so in the middle that wasnt cut, then i finished up with a long blade in my sawzall, worked great and i didnt have to beat up my chainsaw either

 

[SPIKER]

we have done both chain saw, (very hard on saw, and will eat up a blade & bar fast, MUST use good bar oil and keep the chain sharpened often.) I would make 2~5 cuts then sharpen the blade, and make same number of cuts. the circular saw idea sound sgood but will take more care and rolling of the ties. I spiked mine into place and cut at angle what I wanted for a 4' high retaining wall. (I still have some 40x4' left to do! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif LOTS of hard work did about 60' already which includes a rounded island all by hand hammering the rebar spikes 24" long through one into 2nd one and through 2ndone into ground a bit. I have them 4' high that long. also use the auger bits for drilling as the spade bits don't hold up at all on the ties which are VERY HARD. note the chain saw will toss sparks often!. I did hit a few spiral nails that waere inside the ties. I also had a lot of dubble nailed ones used at road crossings. I used these as bases then worked my way up with next tie 1/2 on the bottom tie with back fill hard tampped in behind the stack. first row was hand dug in almost all the way to level and then 36" x 3/4" rebar for anchoring into place. the seams are staggered and there is a 1/2" rebar x ~18" on each side of a joint so that each RR tie has 4 rebar holding it into place. one on each end and one across the joint below it. needless to say I need a couple NEW sledge hammers as I was drilling 1/2" holes and hammering in 1/2" rebar which actually measured closer to 9/16" due to the bumps...
once tie was placed drill and hammer in one spike at a time.! I made mistake of drilling holes in first ones and then hammering the spikes which by the time you get so far they don't line up as well...
/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

MarkM

 

[v8dave]

Old RR ties are likely to have rocks, from ballast, in the wood cracks. Look carefully at any cracks in the area you plan on sawing.