Cutting Sleepers

Hello All,

I am needing to cut some sleepers for my garden. They are 5" x 10" x 8' 6". I do not want to use a chainsaw as fell uncomfortable with them so will be doing it the old fashioned way with a normal saw. (they are new softwood ones)

Someone mentioned to me why not use a circular saw..which i had not thought. I have one which has a 2" depth of cut so could cut then flip over and cut again leaving only a small bit to hand cut.

My question is though....is it safe to do this with a circular saw as at points the blade would be completely in the wood......would this not cause problems for clearing the cuttings and lead to jamming the blade or kicking it back?

I know the problems about getting the cut all lined up...just really wanting to know the safety aspect...ie does a circular saw blade need to go right through the piece of wood it is cutting?

thanks
Trevor

if they are the new softwood ones, then yes you can ut them with a circular saw, or a sharp handsaw.

It'll make your arms ache a bit but a good sharp hand saw will get through a sleeper in a couple of minutes. You''ll be ok cutting them with a circular saw too... the blade will just clear the waste at whatever depth you cut at but unless you are really accurate, you'll get overlaps where the cut doesn't align.

I use a small electric Makita chainsaw to cut them, it takes seconds... it's just a bit tricky to see your line once you start.

thanks for replies guys...will probably just go with the handsaw this weekend as don't trust myself to line the circular saw up perfectly.

thanks again
Trevor

suggest a fleam tooth or double cross ground teeth saw - much more efficient at getting through beams or joists, eg
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/n...efview=search&ts=1215034174597&isSearch=false

thanks for that...i have already bought a Stanley tripple bevel saw so am hoping that is up to the job.

cheers
Trevor

I normally buy the irwin panel saws and they go through them fine