What saw (to rent, at home) to cut sleepers?

[Shox Dr]

You can check for nails with a metal detector

Its not nails but stones that get embedded

 

[reb78]

Crikey. I cut five or six sleepers when I did my drive with a chainsaw as I said earlier and the chain was fine. I sharpened it first, but I had no issues at all. The chain is still in use.

 

[garethp]

Crikey. I cut five or six sleepers when I did my drive with a chainsaw as I said earlier and the chain was fine. I sharpened it first, but I had no issues at all. The chain is still in use.

Well used sleepers or clean ones? I once cut up a tree that had washed down the local river and the silt that was stuck in the rough bark was enough to make a big difference to the time between sharpening. I also seem to remember catching the odd stone and needing to stop and sharpen.

I'm thinking the bottom is most likely to have the most damaging stuff embedded, I wonder if it would make a difference to chain life to cut with the bottom of the sleeper facing the saw so the chain is pulling the crap out instead of dragging it through the cut?

 

[brightspark]

Well used sleepers or clean ones? I once cut up a tree that had washed down the local river and the silt that was stuck in the rough bark was enough to make a big difference to the time between sharpening. I also seem to remember catching the odd stone and needing to stop and sharpen.

I'm thinking the bottom is most likely to have the most damaging stuff embedded, I wonder if it would make a difference to chain life to cut with the bottom of the sleeper facing the saw so the chain is pulling the crap out instead of dragging it through the cut?

if need be run an angle grinder across where your cutting with a wire cup wheel and clean the crap off I cut a stump out with my chainsaw wire brushed the soil of round it and hosed it down

 

[Wendelspanswick]

The other thing that people forget is cutting stuff with grit in will also knacker your bar.
It creates a wider groove so that the chain slops from side to side which means you can't get a straight cut.
I found this out the only time I lent my chainsaw out to a 'friend' who was taking out some fir trees, he felled the trees and then used the chainsaw to cut the roots out of the ground.
With some careful use of a small hammer, anvil and spacer I managed to close the groove up but it was a faff to do.
Moral of the story is never lend your chainsaw to anyone!

 

[brightspark]

The other thing that people forget is cutting stuff with grit in will also knacker your bar.
It creates a wider groove so that the chain slops from side to side which means you can't get a straight cut.
I found this out the only time I lent my chainsaw out to a 'friend' who was taking out some fir trees, he felled the trees and then used the chainsaw to cut the roots out of the ground.
With some careful use of a small hammer, anvil and spacer I managed to close the groove up but it was a faff to do.
Moral of the story is never lend your chainsaw to anyone!

and don't cut crap as u said ruins the cutter bar as well which in turn knackers a new chain if u fit one to it

 

[armalites]

Chainsaws,wives and girlfirends, never let anyone borrow them, they always come back.............. you can guess the blanks

 

[Can'tWeld]

What about a reciprocating saw? I used mine to cut some "sleepers" (quotation marks because they weren't proper railway sleepers, but those lumps of treated 4x6 that are sold as sleepers in the garden centre) and it handled them fine, but slowly, being battery powered. I'd think a decent blade on a mains one would make short work of it.

 

[angellonewolf]

if i ever need a chain saw i look about for a few weeks pickup a non working one or cheapy sharpen/replace the chain cut what i need then sell normaly for a small profit

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@skotl Waiting for the report/pics of the 'done' job, or you away again?

 

[Arclikeharrypotter]

Chainsaw should do the job, that's what we have used in the past when we have needed to cut down old sleepers, often in less than ideal conditions.

 

[brightspark]

Chainsaw should do the job, that's what we have used in the past when we have needed to cut down old sleepers, often in less than ideal conditions.

your own or someone else's

 

[Arclikeharrypotter]

Haha! Think you already know the answer to that one! Someone else's.

 

[daleyd]

Thing is though you could rent one for probably the same cost as a new chain and bar if needed - so why not use your own for the sake of a few cuts and if you need a new chain/bar then you've broke even - if however you just need a couple of sharpenings then your quids in?

I like to keep my tools in good nick as much as anyone but I don't buy them to look pretty.

 

[brightspark]

[QUOTE="daleyd,

I like to keep my tools in good nick as much as anyone but I don't buy them to look pretty.[/QUOTE]I don't buy them to knack them

 

[daleyd]

[QUOTE="daleyd,

I like to keep my tools in good nick as much as anyone but I don't buy them to look pretty.

I don't buy them to knack them [/QUOTE]
You knack the consumable bits, then replace them (possibly, though for a few cuts of a few sleepers it'd not likely be needed) for less than it'd cost to hire one

 

[skotl]

@skotl Waiting for the report/pics of the 'done' job, or you away again?

Trailer project has grabbed me right now. That said, my chippie mate reckons his table saw will do them but I'm not convinced.
Might have a shot with the chainsaw in between not welding non-bits of not-steel to the non-trailer tomorrow

 

[MCKDAVID]

Aye it might do them, but I'd easily take the cost of a new chain against the cost of a decent circular saw blade if it knackered his... especially given the thickness of the sleeper, 150mm, that's going to be a substantial circular saw table, with a pretty big lump of cash for a new blade..

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Aye it might do them, but I'd easily take the cost of a new chain against the cost of a decent circular saw blade if it knackered his... especially given the thickness of the sleeper, 150mm, that's going to be a substantial circular saw table, with a pretty big lump of cash for a new blade..

Unless they can be turned over and cut on multiple faces.

 

[daleyd]

Unless they can be turned over and cut on multiple faces.

The big problem with using a table saw is you are manhandling the sleepers to cut them (skotl says they are close to 100 lg each) rather than moving a relatively lightweight saw to cut them - might be easy enough with a proper industrial table saw with a roller bed but it would certainly be tricky with an average sized table saw.