That’s really good, well done Molegrips. Good to see you’ve listened to common sense, and not bought a chainsaw. As for that circular saw you bought; just take it back. As I said; a plunge saw is a much better tool, although a bit more expensive. Look elsewhere other than BnQ for power tools though, they don’t have a great selection, and what they do have tends to be the cheap end of the market, tools for very occasional use rather than things that will serve you well.

What are you going to do with all those rocks?

Use a length of string to get them all level, as long as the string isnt made to slope you can just hammer each down till the string brushes the top.

I would also look to cap them though with a long board. Problem with endgrain is it soaks up moisture, one of the reasons outside cellar doors rot at the base of the stiles.

All this for a hipster fence 😆
😉

Look elsewhere other than BnQ for power tools though,

http://www.ffx.co.uk is the wiggle of the power tool world….

Of course, but @walowiz says he cut 100mm timbers with a saw advertised as cutting 90mm so clearly something is open to interpretation.

Good to see you’re able to cut using a hand saw, it’s easier on the smaller 100×200 sleepers, but the big 250 hardwood sleepers are really hard work to cut through with a hand saw.

I can confirm that the erbauer mitre saw I linked to, will cut through the 100 x 200 sleepers completely in a single pass and makes the job a complete piece of proverbial.

Probably worth mentioning that I was able to justify the purchase, as I had an 18m retaining wall to do and then a 15m run of raised beds to do using sleepers. I’m keen on DIY, but I’m not doing all that by hand.

when i did mine i bought a 300 long auger bit and drilled a straight and level hole through each one. Use threaded bar through the whole lot to tie them together, kept them level and from falling out of line with each other.

Good to see you’ve listened to common sense, and not bought a chainsaw

When I built a 15m long retaining wall out off sleepers, 4 high, the extra large ones, I used common sense and got the most suitable tool for the job = a chainsaw.

that I was able to justify the purchase

You never have to justify the purchase of a new power tool – this is STW, we understand.

I normally start with the tool I want to buy and the decide what I’m going to use it for 😉

http://www.ffx.co.uk is the wiggle of the power tool world….

more expensive that they used to be and few decent offers anymore? Yup agree with that 🤣

I’ve got my last few Makita tools from Tools4Trade – sounds a bit dodge but great prices & quick delivery 😃

Bruneep; I once saw a man cutting a ply/MDF board by holding it up in mid-air with one hand, and cutting it with a circular saw in the other. Quality work practices. Some people shouldn’t ever be allowed to hold spoons, let alone dangerous power tools.

You seem shocked but was a common sight on site 20 years ago.

Not been on a site in 20 years but I can’t imagine the tradies have stopped taking short cuts.

*Do you feel lucky punk*

When I built a 15m long retaining wall out off sleepers, 4 high, the extra large ones, I used common sense and got the most suitable tool for the job = a chainsaw

@Painey agreed, tried every other tool I had on the very large 2.4m 60kg+ 125×250 sleepers for my retaining wall and the one that worked the best was the chainsaw. Would use the chainsaw every time on those.

I do agree that chainsaws are dangerous tools and should be treated with respect and care.

I do agree that chainsaws are dangerous tools and should be treated with respect and care.

Absolutely. I had the same size sleepers and they’re very heavy. I specifically went for an electric saw due to the fact it stops instantly when you let go of the button. I also learned how to sharpen the blade properly so it cuts well. I was amazed how quickly they can go blunt and you really notice the performance drop off. I’d go as far to say that cutting through sleepers with one of those is highly unlikely to cause any safety issues, providing you know what you’re doing. Very little chance of kickback but I wouldn’t want to use a petrol one on a tree. A friend is a tree surgeon and has told me all about the dangers involved. Sod that.

When I built a 15m long retaining wall out off sleepers, 4 high, the extra large ones, I used common sense and got the most suitable tool for the job = a chainsaw.

If I’d been building such a wall, I’d have used common sense and employed the most suitable tool for the job: the massive industrial saw in the timber merchants who supplied the sleepers. Obviously having them do it for me. So, so much easier. A decent timber suppliers who can cut, mill and plane wood to your specifications, is an absolute boon. I had one recently plane some lovely Ash planks to a specific thickness; was £22.85 inc vat for the work. They do such jobs for free, if you order a sufficient amount.

Buying a chainsaw means buying a lot of protective equipment (if you want to retain all your limbs and blood and eyes), so I can see why it’s a lot less hassle to just saw them in half.

With that said… I would have put a horizontal line in to make sure that the sleepers are straight, level and upright.

I’d also be tempted to buy a lod of rebar and drill through the sleepers mid-way so I could use the rebar as a brace to hold them together. You’d need a big hammer for that though, so possibly a trip to the local crossfit gym needed.

Other than that, your garden looks like a cross between a south american strip mine and trench warfare. Good work for an easter weekend.

Other than that, your garden looks like a cross between a south american strip mine and trench warfare.

All the rage now, lawns are so 2010….

If I’d been building such a wall, I’d have used common sense and employed the most suitable tool for the job

A chainsaw.

A chainsaw.

Err, no. Read the rest of my post.

Edit: I’m talking about cutting seasoned timbers, not raw. You’re probably thinking of those massive static saws that use a chainsaw to cut big logs, no? My local timber suppliers don’t have anything like that, they only get in rough sawn seasoned and treated timber, then mill it down. They won’t touch anything like proper old railway sleepers, because of the hazardous chemicals and old nails etc that are often embedded. If I wanted some of those cut down, I’d get an idiot with a chainsaw. Life’s too short to risk your own safety. 😉

I did.

But I don’t have one of those saws at home.

I’d hate to get all my wood cut then dig my foundations out and find the suitable ground is deeper than expected and have a heap of now too short wood.

Or a garden in a dug up state with large holes for longer than necessary.

Bit like when I did my fence I could have had the mill cut my posts to exact height and found it looked like **** all when I found immovable rock under footings where the posts had to land.

Used the chainsaw to cut angles on top of them too*

*But I do have a couple of chainsaws and training /ground working PPE which is what makes it the right tool for me. If you really want to play with your own life. Forget the circ saw or the chain saw. A 9 inch grinder makes the chain saw look like a electric carving knife by comparison.

Honestly, sawing them by hand is an absolute piece of piss, and it’s so quick and easy compared to the rest of the job it’s not worth the expense and risk of a power tool, or even the faff of plugging it in. I’d be surprised if it takes 60 seconds to get through.

they might be straight by spirit level but they look squint as **** to the eye which is going to piss your wife off no end.

She’s out there with me digging, and assessing the results as we go. You didn’t assume that she was leaving me to it just because she’s female and landscaping is man’s work, did you? 😉

Anyway they might look squint compared to the remains of the old lawn but that’s not level, and it’s coming out to be properly levelled off anyway. At first I used a line to make sure they were parallel with the patio slabs – I put in the first few and bound them to each other with a ratchet strap. Then I tapped them down to as level as I could get it, whilst adjusting the alignment with a spirit level on all sides. Then I added some soil/rocks to hold them in place whilst I put in the postcrete. Once the first few were in I installed more by lashing them to the first few. However, it turns out that not only do they vary in length a bit but also depth and squareness, so this technique has taken us down the ‘rustic’ route. Which is fine, really. Now I’ve set a line horizontally across the garden (not in the picture) because whilst they aren’t all even heights I don’t want them to trend upwards or downwards, cos that’ll look like crap.

Now I’m digging the sub-soil out of the bottom of the garden from where the new patio slabs are going, and really it’s not soil at all, it’s actual rubble, there are so many stones in it.

A 9 inch grinder makes the chain saw look like a electric carving knife by comparison.

Oh, I bought one of those to take up a little square of tarmac that was in the wrong place. It wasn’t too bad, once I figured out the easy way to hold it, but yes, pretty terrifying. It also produced epic amounts of dust that coated everyone’s car, especially my neighbour’s new (to him) Z4 he’d just lovingly waxed. He then waxed it again, now it’s covered in dust from the digging 🙂

landscaping is man’s work

Then there’s ‘manscaping’, which is something a bit different…

It also produced epic amounts of dust that coated everyone’s car, especially my neighbour’s new (to him) Z4 he’d just lovingly waxed. He then waxed it again, now it’s covered in dust from the digging 🙂

We once had some work done, and in the process of taking out rubbish, our neighbour’s car got a bit of dirt on the front. So I got a bucket of hot soapy water and a hose, and gave it a bit of a clean. Problem was, the car was a quite filthy to begin with, so it now had a nice clean front which contrasted with the rest, so I cleaned the entire car. I went to explain this to the neighbour when she came back, and she took one look and said ‘oh my god, it’s never been that clean before!’ 😀