Cutting a Railroad Tie
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- čas přidán 12. 11. 2013
- Mike shows us how to cut a railroad tie using a circular saw and reciprocating saw to get clean cuts. He saws upwards at the end so that the tie doesn't pinch and bind the saw blade.
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Those blades are a lot cheaper than a chain saw blade! I like it. Nicely done! Now have my plan for this afternoon!
As someone with many years of railroad work, cross ties have a lot of dirt, gravel, sand, etc. in them besides creosote which eat up saws particularly chain saws. I was part of rebuilding 4 old railroad trestles. We used an old chain on a chainsaw to cut the old creosoted timbers and a new chain on a electric chainsaw to make new timber cuts. The old timbers were too dirty to make more than one cut per saw filing.
Finally a vid that speaks for itself...thanks man!
Yep - exact same way i cut them. Way easier than chain saw.
Thanks for taking time to do this as I can tell it is easy for you. This will be my first time so I have more confidance in doing this efficiently and safley now :).
Make sure you wear a mask (3 years late, so commenting for others' safety).
Trying the circular saw and it seems to bind/hit hard resistance before getting all the way across the tie. Any suggestions?
I just did this today, but used a hand saw after the circular.. for 20 cuts.
I also wore a dust mask after reading about creosote. Not that I do it daily, but still.
Good Video. Every time I cut ties the whole place smells like a train yard.
Thanks man!! I have both saws...
Good vid, That tie looks to be pretty old and weathered. May have dried out quite a bit. I thought RR ties tended to be really gummy and full of tar that gums up a circular saw. So you need to use a chainsaw so keeping the cut square it difficult. Additionally it is good to see that Mike has good up wind ventilation during his cuts because the Creosote pressure treatment in RR ties is NOT healthy to breath or get on your skin. Best to use at minimal dust mask with good air flow away or even charcoal resp.
+Douglas Smith Mask for sure
Your response was helpful for me, thank you
New = gummy, stinky and will ruin your clothes. Weathered a decade or more? Not so much. Always wear gloves.
Is that a large (15 amp) reciprocating saw or just an a average size?
what circular saw sis you use?
Good job...
I searched on how to cut a RR tie and this was the one. I have both a Recip and Circular, done deal.
I have put down right about a thousand of these on different projects and this is the method that works best. Chainsaw will give 5 maybe 6 good cuts and that chain will be toast.
I just learned this the hard way this week. Had to make 14 cuts. One blade is toast and the other isn’t exactly sharp either.
@@foxwithglocks1148 yeah I dont know what the deals with Xties butthey destroy blades. I got brave last year and decided that a 14inch metal cutting blade on a concrete saw was going to be the wining ticket. All I can say is dont do it bruised wrist t
Dislocated thumb ego shot to shit. Not worth it.
Carlos Enriquez holy shit sounds rough. I got through about a dozen cut before having to swap a blade. But that’s still not many.
I can confirm this, cutting railway sleepers with a standard chainsaw buggers the chains in no time.
Thanks Carlos!
Simple railroad tie project with the close of hot rivets?
A makita 16_5/16 circular beam saw is the fastest way to go smooth cut as well
Yet when the blade is dull...How much for a new one? How many own a beam saw?
What kind of circular saw blade did you use?
You make it look easy, what circular saw is that one? Also, I was told railroad ties weight between 200 lbs and 300 lbs, but seems lighter when you move it.
190lbs, seems lighter because he is not lifting, he is rolling it.
Love the Life you Live
What kind of blades are best for cutting RR ties with circular saw and chop saw?
I came to the comments to ask the same thing
carbide circular saw blade
Selamat beraktivitas semoga sukses selalu 👍❤
Nice work. What is the current status in the US for these ties? CN in Canada is now contracting with BIO mass energy production to use these up. There are piles of them all along track ways. Can you purchase in US?
Every box store has them here. Home Depot and Lowes at $26 USD and Tractor Supply Company they are $19.99 USD each
There are three places in the Salt Lake City area to obtain RR ties yet...they sell VERY fast. If they are available, do not delay...jump in the truck and head over to get them.
This is the fastest way to cut multiple ties, those saying just use a chainsaw......you have never made more than one cut or if so you know the time involved in sharpening the blade with a file. so for one cut yes chainsaw (at which point you just toasted your teeth) any more than that, this is the fastest most efficient way. 20+ years of construction tells me this. Safety is personal meaning on you, so if others don't do as you do don't worry about it unless it affects you.
One cut doesn't toast the chain lol. You can get more than 12 perfect cuts on a dirty cut chain with a 20" bar. If you have 3 chains it's nothing to have a second person just sharpening them while the first cuts. Not even considering the fact that not everyone has power where they're cutting - it's 7x faster to cut with a chainsaw (I've timed it), so paying two people for 7x speed is 3.5x more cost efficient. Not to mention cost on skill saw and sawsall blades.
Have you ever heard of anecdotal evidence? Anecdotal evidence is information based on personal experience or observation rather than scientific data. It can be misleading because it doesn't take into account factors like sample size, bias, and random chance.
In the example you gave, you are relying on your own experience, but haven't provided any details about the specific chainsaw or circular saw used, the type of wood cut, or the thickness of the wood, but we are to believe that chainsaws are 7x faster? Always? In every situation? Even when you forgot to fill it with gas and have to run to the station? Offering subjective numbers as if they are quantifiable ones is an argument in bad faith.
Class! Man tell me how to cut a wooden tie lengthwise? To make a plank, you can make permanent floors in a livestock barn from this material.
Sawmill.
@@jbj27406 Not MY sawmill! That creosote destroys blades and makes a mess of everything.
@@brucea550 Agreed. The stuff destroys every saw it comes in contact with--circular saw, bandsaw, reciprocating saw. But I'd hate to try to make any rip cut--especially to produce planks for flooring with anything other than a sawmill, and hopefully, a bandsaw. Good time to use those bandsaw blades that are too far gone to use otherwise.
@@jbj27406 Having a bandsaw mill, I disagree. Creosote wood dulls blades quickly, and blades that are too far gone for anything else would already be dull to start. So they would cut rr ties very slowly if at all. This also means they would need a heavy drip of diesel or something similar to prevent the tar building up on the blade. That in turn destroys the belts used on the drive and idler wheels. And that doesn’t even take into account the sand or other grit usually embedded in used ties that will also rapidly dull the blade even further. I don’t know that there is really any good way to rip a tie.
The best way to have creosoted planks would be to soak them after they are milled. But I’m not sure it would be healthy for livestock regardless.
@@brucea550 Agreed. I think it's a practical impossibility to rip cut railroad cross ties. The few times I've had to make cross cuts or angled cross cuts to fit them for use in landscaping has been awful. I'd love to find the least disagreeable, least equipment destroying, and most efficient way of even doing that.
Can these ties be used for indoor furniture and how would you have to prepare the wood for it to be safe to use indoors? Thanks
I hope by now you know the answer is a resounding, no way! Have you ever smelled those things in the hot sun? Dangerous chemicals in those ties.
Hey after doing this my for a while a friend of mine was looking at me funny driving in spikes with a sledge. So he disappears for a bit comes back with a rotary hammer and a ground rod driver puts a one inch pilot hole in the tie puts the spike in it and drives it into the tie with the rotary hammer like nothing. I mean like nothing so thats how I do it now. I wish I had known this years ago. Thought I'd pass it along good luck my brothers.
Rotary hammer but set to impact, not drill. Works excellent! I don’t use spikes though. #3 rebar with one end cut at an angle.
I found that using a 12" reciprocating, demolition saw blade for the entire cut was just as efficient.
Few can get a square cut in that manner.
Go AZ Wildcats!
If you have a metal detector, you'll find those suckers can have a lot of bad stuff in them
Ah that rotating blade running ever closer to the leg artery after every cut...
That's why there's a blade guard on it
@@user-tn1qh7pe1r and the eye protecting hanging on his shirt and not on his eyes?
PLEASE hold the tools cutting down! Sends shivers
Turn it on a lathe into a vase.
I was burned by creasote from these
Chainsaw?
HI
can used rail road ties be used for firewood like burning in fireplace or wood stove
NO. Do not burn anything with creosote. Google it.
They don't burn well
No very poisonous lol definitely not
Creosote dust is a carcinogen,so it's recommended u wear a respirator. Creosote is a byproduct of coal
I heard you aren't even supposed to use a sleeper inside a house because of the creosote. Though they would look good as an internal lintel.
I would use a respirator and PPE clothing as railroad ties are treated with arsenic and other harmful chemicals!
Just use a chainsaw way easier lol
these kill chains...I was shocked, they must be super age hardened..i cut three with a fairly new chain, and it was toast
you need a chainsaw....
He died of cancer from the ties. 😢
If you have more than a few to cut, buy yourself a good chainsaw and three dirty blades, then maybe a sharpener if you don't want to drop them off sharpening them. I assume you don't know how to sharpen them yourself if you're watching this video and reading the comments. A chainsaw would rip through that in 8 seconds.
My chainsaw cuts through RR ties like a hot knife through butter!
mine too but my cuts arent always so straight
@zedwpd I go really slow & pull out every inch to let the bar & chain cool for about a minute. I know it's backwards logic to cutting straight through but I feel any gravel before dulling the blade & I can really focus on the cut. I use a 1/8" metal ice spike to push any gravel out of the chains path.
I know a friend that got creosole poisoning cutting one with a chainsaw. He almost went 10-7. Long sleeves and a dust mask at a minimum should be used. Be safe...
No he didn't.
How did he know? Just curious.
Exactly how I do it, but I wear a mask and gloves.
Use the right tool for the Job a skill saw is not the right tool! You waist time working like that!
Wear a mask. The chemical treatment on even a weathered railroad tide is the last thing you want to inhale. Thanks for the video.