I need to make a clean angled cut to some decorative sleepers for the garden. They are too big for my mitre saw, and my circular saw.

What are the other options? Old fashioned hand saw seems the only option, but I have 20 of the things to cut so could end up looking like this

circular saw to just over half the depth on one side, flip over and cut the other?

Chain saw with a new or very sharp blade.

As above, circular saw – I’d create a jig so you know the cuts are all going to line up if you’re doing 20 the same.

Mine were cut with circular saw to just under half the depth on each side then hit with a sledge hammer – worked ok as long as you are accurate with your cuts and are hiding the edge.

Make sure you bear in mind the creosote though – I had a lovely ‘tan’ with sensitivity for about 6 months after because I’m an idiot and did it in short sleeves.

Oh and watch your back too – they don’t seem too bad to lift once but shifting them all day crippled me!

This reckons it has a 255mm cut capacity through wood:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-m4501-1010w-reciprocating-saw-240v/9852r

Or an electric chainsaw?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb355chn-2000w-230v-corded-40-5cm-electric-chainsaw/92771

Reciprocating saw? Trying to get a square plumb cut, burning the muscles in your forearm or burning your hand with the motor.

Screwfix seem to have great advertising on  here i much prefer the place usually next door Toolstation although a pain when its not in stock

I would mark them up and make a mitred clamp on fence out of mdf to run the edge of a circular saw against.

You just measure the distance from the edge of the baseplate to the blade, and offset your fence that amount.

Having recently cut 30 odd with a chainsaw i can quite clearly state that chainsaw isn’t the way to go. You have to sharpen the chain every 3rd cut. The dust is vile it gets everywhere, same goes for the fumes/smoke, proper PPE is needed. The sleepers are full of crap and hidden lumps of lead (poured around fixings when fixings came loose) will break your chain

its a horrible job and one I refuse to do ever again

B & D Scorpion saw ? Around £40

should get a more controlled cut than the recip saw as mentioned above.

Edit, wrong thread

Having recently done this with clean, new sleepers, a circular saw was the only tool I had and it worked well – just over half through on one side, flip over and do the other.

Didn’t use a jig, I used a set square to mark a line all the way around. Was getting the cuts to line up fine.

Two things I should point out.

1. The cut edge is very much on view.

2. I am not talking reclaimed railway sleepers full of creosote, these are new pressure treated softwood sleepers

The angled cut end will be on show something like this

oooo Fancy.

Sounds like you need a new, massive, circular saw then 🙂

Where are people sourcing these used sleepers laden with all the crap they absorb over their life, as they should not be sold on to any member of the public, it’s basically illegal to do so.

Makita !

Where are people sourcing these used sleepers laden with all the crap they absorb over their life, as they should not be sold on to any member of the public, it’s basically illegal to do so.

?? Really, why?

There are loads in the local reclamation yards

Anyway as I said above mine aren’t reclaimed, they are new.

Could the place you are getting them from cut them to the correct length for you? That’s what I always ask my local independent to do for me.

@finishthat

cheers, my saw isn’t that big but the vid has given me the idea to cut the first beam, then use that as a guide for the saw on the following beams.

In practice  – affordable –    a beefy jigsaw and extra long blades will cut them ,

here is a quick example :

Thin and Long – Bosch Extra Long Jigsaw Blades Review & Corbel Test

It must be a beefy jigsaw and the blades are costly  , but it is possible especially with the wide blades.

Reclaimed sleepers are indeed death – they’re laden with proper creosote which is nasty. Then they get dripped on by all the lubricants off the rail vehicles themselves & they leak like sieves. The worst bit though is the shit. There’s still plenty of carriage toilet that vent straight onto the track. That all accumulates on the underside of the coaches and also means the trackbed itself is just one long open sewer.

Someone once gave me the job of needle scaling a 1930’s carriage underframe we were restoring. I didn’t realise that the “paint” was actually just dried vaporised human excrement mixed with grease and steam cylinder oil.

Makita !

MAFELL! – only five grand

🙂

reciprocating saws or big jigsaws will be no use – the blade will wander off-square – especially if you’re cutting diagonally on the grain. A circular saw with a big enough blade (v pricey) or a regular saw and some very careful jigging would be the best option – will stay square and not try to wander. With a friend to hold the other end you could feed one through a bandsaw maybe – but getting repeatable results with everything hand held would be tough.

If you do the two passes with a circular saw thing you’ll never get them bang on so cut close-ish to your final line then finish the job with a belt sander. Clamp your beams together is sets while you sand across the whole lot will help keep everything the same and keep the sanded surface square

Builders doing ours used the saw to half way and turn over, then sand the cut edge.

I used to have a 4′ diameter saw blade kicking around the house as an ‘Objet’. Found it in a riverbed (and still surprisingly sharp) and dragged it home in my old VW polo. Found out if you can jam a blade that size in the boot with the seat down – but once the teeth have embedded themselves in the boot floor and the headlining its pretty difficult to get back out again. I’ve somehow managed to lose it though otherwise you could have borrowed it

Dont use a hand saw.. you’ll end up with tendonitis (tennis elbow)

We use a Stihl saw, works well.

Cut, flip, cut then hand saw any remaining wood and clean up with a plane.

I would echo the thoughts of those above – Chainsaw is not the way to go.

No idea where my old man got the sleepers for his garden, but I spent more time sharpening the chain than I did cutting. Watch your back when lifting too!

can you not hire a massive circular saw?

Radial arm saw is what you need. I have a 3 phase one I need to get rid off if you are local…mine is like this

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELU-1251-RADIAL-ARM-MULTI-PURPOSE-SAW-230V-AC/232811135959?hash=item3634a003d7:g:dPwAAOSw-sZa4avi

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>When I did mine my saw got pretty close to all the way through so when I cut the other side I cut that slightly long and it just left a little ridge to sand</span>

As an alternative, if you are going for that angled cut as a feature you could use a smaller circular saw, set it on a slight angle then cut from both sides. Makes a facetted surface where the two cuts meet. Adds a bit of interest to the design.

.

Dont use a hand saw.. you’ll end up with tendonitis (tennis elbow)

I really hope you’re joking. It’s not that hard to cut with a decent hand saw, just takes a while.

Proper reclaimed sleepers from track beds I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. Covered in carcinogenic creosote? Lovely! Use them if you want but don’t plant anything next to them, sit on them, or have kids/pets in the same garden. Naaaah. Not for me thanks.

Do you know any farmers , couple I know have huge table saws driven off the tractor or ask your local lumber yard to do it .

Surely the answer is just hire the right tool for the job unless your strapped for cash and give you’ve got new sleepers I suspect not.

My mates are terrible for doing jobs with not quite the right tool and half arsing it and I can’t do that – especially when you will keep seeing it all the time.

Call around your local hire shops and see if they have the right tool.

I have 30+ (lethal?) Old railway sleepers and I stalled around 80 ten years ago with a chainsaw and despite that the plants, pets, kids, clothes and I still survive…

James

Just found this site , some very interesting info and a well designed site as well.

They also sell and deliver new and previously used sleepers and poles.

http://www.railwaysleepers.com

I cut all mine with a chainsaw, the cuts are all on show but they look fine, at the end of the day it’s a sleeper.

If the quality of the cut is that important, just clean it up with a plane afterwards.

Indeed…or belt sander.

If it is similar to the timber we have sold to sawmills for new garden ‘sleepers’, you should be able to cut them with a bread knife and carry 4 at a time. Was all high volume, low density stuff (Lawson’s cypress).

Tractor saw bench well suited to that size cut, but not sure how accurately repeatable, the big blades dance quite a bit.