Railroad Ties vs. Chainsaw

[Jonny Quest]

My wife wants me to make a garden for her. Now, down here in Houston, TX the soil really sucks for the typical home garden, so you need a lot of prep work to get a garden to grow.

My buddy works at the railroad and he just gave me a bunch of railroad ties - for the purpose of making a big "garden box" to contain the garden & soil.

I need to cut the ties to-length for the project, as some of the ties are "switch" ties and are 14 - 16 feet long. I was thinking about using my Husky 353.

Any experience with chainsaw vs. railroad ties? These are the "real deal" and are very heavy, solid oak - with creosote. Will these tear up my chain/bar? I've got an old chain that is about to be retired, but I could sharpen-up and get a little more work out of it. Tips? Comments?

 

[chainsawjunky]

I have no experience with ties and a chainsaw but carbide chain might work if you want to spend that much. Like 1-2 dollars a drive link from baileys. Evan

 

[1953greg]

sharpen the old chain and use it. also wear plenty of protective clothing and face mask for protection.

 

[Austin1]

Yes cutting rail ties is hard on a chain! I used to work for a company that used old railway tie's as a bumper when they strapped down heavy oilfield equipment. I cut them with a 044 and carbide chain! [the company paid for the chain and saw]There is a lot of junk on and pushed into the ties like rock's pieces of steal.So if you do cut use the old bar and chain and be prepared to sharpen often!

 

[Lakeside53]

Yes, they will mess up your chains... Lot's of grit and stones in the cracks. Use old chains and NOT the full chisel type.

Carbide is likely a waste of money for a few cuts - and they don't like rock... just buy a couple of cheap chains, or go to your local saws shop and asks for any old "end of life chains", and a few files. Turn your oiler up, and wash off the cut area as best you can.

 

[Ed*L]

Railroad ties are hell on chain, probably 3 cuts max betwen sharpenings using non-carbide chain.

Personally I would send the ties back. Creosote is not a good thing to have in your yard. It will leech in to the soil, contaminating it. Some plants will not grow well after a couple of years as the creosote spreads. If you get any of it on your skin it will burn, sit on one and it stains your clothes. Not good at all if you have small kids running around.
I have seen mortage companies make people remove rr ties from the property before the will issue a loan because of the contamination.

The best thing to use is interlocking retaining wall blocks.

Ed

 

[Woodie]

Railroad ties are hell on chain, probably 3 cuts max betwen sharpenings using non-carbide chain.

Personally I would send the ties back. Creosote is not a good thing to have in your yard. It will leech in to the soil, contaminating it. Some plants will not grow well after a couple of years as the creosote spreads. If you get any of it on your skin it will burn, sit on one and it stains your clothes. Not good at all if you have small kids running around.
I have seen mortage companies make people remove rr ties from the property before the will issue a loan because of the contamination.

The best thing to use is interlocking retaining wall blocks.

Ed

Roger that. I wouldn't want 'em in my yard either, particularly for a garden. And to add to all the above...they smell bloody awful.

 

[Sprig]

Old ties shouldn't be much of a problem to cut (and as others mentioned use a beater chain) and creosote on the bar & chain can be cleaned up with a bit your mixed gas on a rag. Not letting the bar get hot might be an idea. It is nasty stuff though. Personally I have always avoided any treated woods for food gardens and have only used RR ties for small landscaping projects, ie. retainment. Here is a link to some useful info on using treated wood for gardens> http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/ipmp/Newsletter/bcpmv7no1.htm#wt
Have fun with the project, I have to do a similar one very soon (raised beds) and have access to some old 2x12 fir and will use rebar shorts for holding it together, it will be the only level ground in the yard....



Serge

 

[masiman]

It'd be cheaper to use an old blade on a circular saw or a sawzall (finished up with a handsaw) and probably fewer problems.

Interlocking blocks are ~2$/pc. It will look better longer and none of the creosote issues.

 

[fwgsaw]

very hard on chains i run a feedlot so i cut alot of ties but i use a old crappy chain and a wore out 1010. almost every time you will cut into something harder than wood. one good thing about the ties is that after a couple of years you will not have to weed around the ties because the weeds will not grow there because of the creasote. I have ties around my house its not all bad.

 

[romeo]

. one good thing about the ties is that after a couple of years you will not have to weed around the ties because the weeds will not grow there because of the creasote. I have ties around my house its not all bad.

Depends on you soil and climate. Here in the NM desert the only place anything grows is around car batteries, trash pits, and railroad ties. The desert soil is usually extremely alkali.

The worst part about cutting rr ties is the smell and the smoke. Just have a pocket full of files with you.

 

[dtnodya]

I'd use wood .....

 

[Knotdodger]

Creosote is nasty. Just wait till you get a sliver. I get them quite abit climbing old power and phone poles. They fester up within a couple hours. They smart a bit more than regular wood.

 

[GASoline71]

The cresote is nasty, smelly, gritty, crap. It will also get into your clutch and any other moving part of the saw. Clean up that saw after you are done.

...or just borrow your neighbors saw...

Gary

 

[NovaMan]

Railroad ties are hell on chain, probably 3 cuts max betwen sharpenings using non-carbide chain.

Personally I would send the ties back. Creosote is not a good thing to have in your yard. It will leech in to the soil, contaminating it. Some plants will not grow well after a couple of years as the creosote spreads. If you get any of it on your skin it will burn, sit on one and it stains your clothes. Not good at all if you have small kids running around.
I have seen mortage companies make people remove rr ties from the property before the will issue a loan because of the contamination.

The best thing to use is interlocking retaining wall blocks.

Ed

You got somethin' against creosote?

The American Wood Preservation Association describes creosote (CAS Registry Number 8001-58-9) as:

"a distillate of coal-tar produced by high temperature carbonization of bituminous coal; it consists principally of liquid and solid aromatic hydrocarbons and contains appreciable quantities of tar acids and tar bases; it is heavier than water, and has a continuous boiling range of approximately 275°C, beginning at about 175°C" (AWPA, 1977).

There are five major classes of compounds in creosote:

* Aromatic Hydrocarbons including PAHs, alkylated PAHs, benzene, toluene, and xylene (PAHs can constitute up to 90% of creosote);

* Phenolics including phenols, cresols, xylenols, and naphthols (1 to 3% of creosote);

* Nitrogen-containing Heterocycles including pyridines, quinolines, acridines, indolines, carbazoles (1 to 3% of creosote);

* Sulphur-containing Heterocycles including benzothiophenes (1 to 3% of creosote); and

* Oxygen-containing Heterocycles including dibenzofurans (5 to 7.5% of creosote) (U.S. EPA, 1987).

"Pure" creosote is denser than water. For some wood preservation uses, creosote is mixed 1:1 with fuel oil. In these uses, the density will be less than pure creosote, but will still be heavier than water (Hoffman and Hrudey, 1990). Creosote is insoluble in water (Romanowski et al., 1983), although the components have a wide range of solubilities from the readily soluble tar acids and bases (i.e., phenols, cresols, acridines) to the insoluble six-ring PAHs (i.e., naphtho[2,3-e]pyrene) (CRC Press, 1973; Merck Index, 1976; Clement Int. Corp., 1990a; Syracuse Research Corp., 1989). Creosote is soluble in many organic solvents, including oil and diesel fuel (U.S. EPA, 1984; Bos et al., 1983).

C'mon, it's great stuff!

 

[joatmon]

The cresote is nasty, smelly, gritty, crap. It will also get into your clutch and any other moving part of the saw. Clean up that saw after you are done.

...or just borrow your neighbors saw...

Gary

Whatcher Buick saw doin' this weekend?

Oh, we'll cover the port holes cause we don't want any creosote in there.

 

[Jibber]

I'm laughing about that "borrow a saw" from your neighbor line..

I think my neighbor did just that.. borrowed a saw and when he returned it the bar was crudded up with tar like junk.. the chain was virtually destroyed.. I always figured that's what he did.. cut up railroad ties.

Glad I loaned him my beater saw (now since retired).

 

[olyman]

ive TRIED to cut rr ties with my cs--forgetaboutit---i couldnt get 2 in down in the tie before no cut-----get a carbide blade for your circular saw--that will cut thru them--i cut them that way to burn in my shop furnace--and no--its NOT against the law---if you use them--lay down some heavy mil clear plastic--why clear--sunlight wont degrade it as fast--and put the ties on top of it--then line the inside of the box with more clear up to top of ties--no creosote in soil---

 

[Canyon Angler]

You got somethin' against creosote?

C'mon, it's great stuff!

Me too!

 

[chowdozer]

Cresote is probably not too good for a garden (vegetable I assume? ). If you're going to eat those vegetables, I think I'd use landscape bricks.