Cutting Jarrah railway sleepers into planks

[Smouser]

Hi

I have been making some furniture out of reclaimed Jarrah railway sleepers. I am having major dramas to cut the wood into boards.
The width I would like to cut is between 230mm and 250mm. The fist board I cut I used a chainsaw freehand and normal chain. Although it did work the result was less than desirable. Not very straight etc.

I then went and purchased a chainsaw mill device and a ripping chain. The ripping chain can almost not cut it at all and it overheats almost instantly. That jarrah wood is rock hard.
My table saw seem to cut them quite easily and also a circular saw but as you can imagine I do not have enough depth in the blade to cut the sleeper into planks.

Is there any tool/saw I can buy that would be able to cut 230mm? I dont mind cutting half and then flipping the sleeper over to finish the cut.
Most table saws that I can afford for DIY use have blades of 315mm with a max cut of 90mm at 90 degrees. Which will still leave me with about 50mm after I have made a cut from both sides.

Would a bandsaw do the trick?
Something else?

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Yes - what you need is a decent bandsaw

Regards Mick

 

[Smouser]

Thanks

Any recommendations?
I have found that but for a hobby/diy it is alot of money just to get some board cut.
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... ge-bandsaw

 

[marcros]

A bandsaw would do it but you would need to guarantee that there are no hidden nasties. And you would need more than a cheap hobby machine. It is a shame that there is no other source of jarrah in the uk- anything would be preferable to sleepers.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

There's no cheap way I'm afraid, if you decide to get a bandsaw I'd recommend something like this:

http://www.recordpower.co.uk/product/pr ... 0lj1RsU_4Y

The other option is to try and find someone locally who could resaw it for you.

Regards Mick

 

[Smouser]

Thanks for the answers.
As much as I would love to buy that bandsaw it is just too much money for me.
I could possibly stretch to buy this: http://www.toolbox.co.uk/draper-76238-3 ... 5286-88371
Use it and then sell it on at a later date when I have finished all of my projects.

Even with the draper bandsaw I will probably have to cut a plank from the side first to make sure the width can fit in the saw. My planks are fairly chunky 30mm - 40mm so that will leave me with a sleeper of around 200mm.

Another option might be to hire a bandsaw with a cutting capacity of at least 200mm if I can find a place that do it. Anybody know a place that hire bandsaws out?

Hi

There's no cheap way I'm afraid, if you decide to get a bandsaw I'd recommend something like this:

http://www.recordpower.co.uk/product/pr ... 0lj1RsU_4Y

The other option is to try and find someone locally who could resaw it for you.

Regards Mick

I have no way of moving the sleepers anyway. It would involve hiring a van or similar so not even that option is going to work.

 

[Myfordman]

I would suggest ripping from both sides on your table saw and then cutting the remaining 50mm or so on a band saw.

 

[JustBen]

A bandsaw would make light work of it but you would need a 14"+ bandsaw to cut that depth.

There are quite a few woodworkers relatively close to you who may have a bandsaw and be willing to do it.

You could always sweeten the deal by buying them a new bandsaw blade to ease the worry of hidden objects.
(Pretty cheap from Tuffsaws [£10-£20] and I doubt anyone would turn one of their blades down)

 

[Shrubby]

If you already have a chainsaw and milling guide you could look for a Tungsten tipped rescue blade
Fairly certain Stihl make them for the German fire service
Otherwise buy an old cast iron ripsaw - Wadkin, Robinson etc with a huge blade ( and a substantial guard)
Matt

 

[Bluekingfisher]

With only a 50mm cut required after you use your chosen power saw, roll up your sleeves and cut it with a hand saw. You can buy them buy on eBay in a pack of five for not a lot of money. The hardened points will last a long time, when done just bin em.

Keep it simple.

David

 

[Smouser]

With only a 50mm cut required after you use your chosen power saw, roll up your sleeves and cut it with a hand saw. You can buy them buy on eBay in a pack of five for not a lot of money. The hardened points will last a long time, when done just bin em.

Keep it simple.

David

I should clarify, I have table saw but the max depth of cut is 70mm, I was thinking of maybe upgrading my table saw to a bigger one that can cut 90mm but if it can't cut the boards anyway my current table saw will do and I won't spend extra money on a bigger table saw. That will leave me with 90mm which will be extremely hard work to cut jarrah with a handsaw. It is seriously tough wood.

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

IF you went slow (very slow) my little SIP 12" bandsaw would cut it... it was the first woodworking machine i bought, still going strong 6 years later lol.

NOt sue how much you could fit under the guide though

 

[No skills]

Maybe for that last bit of the cut you could try a reciprocating saw with some long wood blades?

 

[Smouser]

Maybe for that last bit of the cut you could try a reciprocating saw with some long wood blades?

That's an idea.....
I don't own a reciprocating saw though. I will have to have a proper think and work out what's best. I already spent money on that chainsaw mill and that didn't work out.
I dread spending more money on something that just might work/makeshift work. If needs be I might just have to bite the bullet and get a bandsaw.

What kind of speed should I expect to cut on a bandsaw? I always thought a chainsaw would be rapid but a circular saw/table saw win hands down on jarrah sleeper.

 

[wallace]

The recipricating saw is a good idea, I have used the best at work and the cheapest from Tesco at home and to be honest theirs not much difference. The important bit is the blade. Don't use the ones that come with it. I got some Bosch ones and their are brilliant. You can get loads of different type of blade, from hacksaw to full on big tooth wood saw. I think I paid about £40 for the saw and its 5 years old

 

[custard]

Smouser, to be honest you've set yourself a really tough resawing challenge and there just isn't an easy and cheap solution. That's a very big cut in a fearsomely tough wood that is almost certainly contaminated with grit and possibly metal in the shape of old screws or nails. Yes, you could buy a bandsaw, but I guarantee the blade it will come with won't be remotely capable of tackling that job, and buying a replacement blade that can do the job is eye wateringly expensive and will really need a top end, beefy bandsaw to achieve the blade tensions required. Unfortunately this just isn't cheery chappy in his shed type stuff.

If I were you I'd chalk it down to experience think seriously about selling the wood and replacing it with timber that's better fitted to your equipment. After all oak is only about £50 a cubic foot and you'll be able to source it ready machined close to your finished sizes.

 

[Woodmonkey]

If your chainsaw is struggling it's because
A) the saw is underpowered, what size saw you using?
B) the chain is blunt, if you hit some stone or metal then it won't cut.
I've worked in various different countries as a tree surgeon and have never found a kind of wood that a properly sharp chainsaw won't cut. As someone else said you can buy tct rescue chains that will cut through more or less anything, if the sleepers are very contaminated then that would be the way forward.

 

[SpinDoctor]

If this were me. Having a bit of experience with aus hardwoods and having ripped many hundreds of feet of wood in those sorts of dimensions...

First thing I'd be doing is rip on a tablesaw, let it do the hard work. Use a blade that has the least amount of teeth and thinnest kerf to reduce the strain on the saw. A negative rack blade is best if you expect to hit metal or some other debris. If you use a bandsaw to do the full depth ripping you'll kill the blade in no time unless your saw will take a carbide tipped one.

Once I'd made the cuts to full depth on both sides of the boards I'd finish with the bandsaw. Cause you're talking about Jarrah its full of silica and extremely hard and unruly, and will kill most bandsaw blades so you'll need to find a durable blade that can handle the silica and maybe the odd metal bits... Because you used the tablesaw to remove most of the material the bandsaw blade should have a bit more life in it. But be prepared to go through a few blades depending on how much ripping you're planning to do.

Chainsaw on such old, dry, dirty wood would be an exercise in frustration, I wouldn't even attempt it.

Any way you look at it, it's going to be a lot of work. Best to have someone helping.

 

[Smouser]

Smouser, to be honest you've set yourself a really tough resawing challenge and there just isn't an easy and cheap solution. That's a very big cut in a fearsomely tough wood that is almost certainly contaminated with grit and possibly metal in the shape of old screws or nails. Yes, you could buy a bandsaw, but I guarantee the blade it will come with won't be remotely capable of tackling that job, and buying a replacement blade that can do the job is eye wateringly expensive and will really need a top end, beefy bandsaw to achieve the blade tensions required. Unfortunately this just isn't cheery chappy in his shed type stuff.

If I were you I'd chalk it down to experience think seriously about selling the wood and replacing it with timber that's better fitted to your equipment. After all oak is only about £50 a cubic foot and you'll be able to source it ready machined close to your finished sizes.

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I am a stubborn man and want to use the sleepers. I love the colour and the character of the wood and oak is way to common for my liking.
I just don't think you can replicate the texture and colour with oak.

That is a side table I have built with sleeper wood.
It is just a shame I can't do a "practice" cut with a bandsaw to see how it will perform.

 

[Smouser]

Cause you're talking about Jarrah its full of silica and extremely hard and unruly, and will kill most bandsaw blades so you'll need to find a durable blade that can handle the silica and maybe the odd metal bits... Because you used the tablesaw to remove most of the material the bandsaw blade should have a bit more life in it. But be prepared to go through a few blades depending on how much ripping you're planning to do.

Can you give me a rough estimate on the life of the blade? How many boards can I expect to rip with a blade @ 2.6m long boards?