cutting "rail sleepers"- alligator saw or reciprocating saw?

[opps]

I have been asked to deal with some timber sleepers in my customer's garden. At a guess they are about 30cm tall.

I don't have a chain saw and don't want to buy one because it won't get used. I will however entertain the idea of either an alligator saw or reciprocating saw. To be honest, I think that the reciprocating saw might be more useful. I get the impression that it is more versatile.

Feedback would be useful before I commit, I have about 3 weeks so no rush.

 

[RandomGrinch]

The few I've dealt with (DIY), I went around the edges with a circular saw and manually cut the core.

...and are they 'Real' sleepers? - beware the creosote and worse, that comes out of the bottom of carriages!

 

[foxhole]

Agree with RG , the recip saw will struggle in sleepers especially if you need accurate cuts.

 

[^woody^]

If it's 3 weeks away, use a Jack saw and start Tuesday.

 

[Diyisfun]

Ive just cut RAILWAY sleepers, lengthways used a circular saw cutting from both sides, done great job.

 

[opps]

The few I've dealt with (DIY), I went around the edges with a circular saw and manually cut the core.

...and are they 'Real' sleepers? - beware the creosote and worse, that comes out of the bottom of carriages!

TBH I don't know if they were real sleepers. From memory, they are about 9-10" wide. They have a seemingly random selection of holes in them,

They are currently being used to house a raised soil bed, approx 6m long which goes along and then has a return with the rest of the bed being wider. The client wants the raised section to be in a straight line.

I do have a 15 yr old Dewalt 235(?)mm saw that has only ever been used once (not by me). Assuming about 80mm depth of cut that will leave me with about 90mm to hand cut.

Given that the sleepers are currently in contact with wet soil, I am somewhat concerned about using a circular saw that I am not familiar with (my go to saw is my Festool plunge saw). I guess that I could do it in smaller passes and widen the kerf as I go along. Sounds time consuming though.

Increasingly, I am thinking the an alligator saw is the best option. I really appreciate the advice regarding circular saws, and reciprocating saws, but I would rather the two passing blades of an alligator saw will reduce the risk of kick back. I don't "care" how long the cut is so long as it cut relatively straight.

When I buy the saw, I will offer feed back.

 

[blup]

I have been asked to deal with some timber sleepers in my customer's garden. At a guess they are about 30cm tall.

I don't have a chain saw and don't want to buy one because it won't get used. I will however entertain the idea of either an alligator saw or reciprocating saw. To be honest, I think that the reciprocating saw might be more useful. I get the impression that it is more versatile.

Feedback would be useful before I commit, I have about 3 weeks so no rush.

Circular saw or reciprocating saw but may struggle for a clean cut with the latter, if the sleepers are in situ.

Blup

 

[big-all]

My thoughts' alligator saw
very expensive blades
recip saw two batons secured far side off blade blade width apart and follow line shoe side
avoid any chop/plunge/track/table saw with a spinning blade as wet timber and pinching on a high speed blade is massive build up off momentum and energy with possible danger where as a recip/jigsaw blade has little danger other than a bit off juddering or jumping

 

[opps]

Circular saw or reciprocating saw but may struggle for a clean cut with the latter, if the sleepers are in situ.

Blup

Thanks, the sleepers that will need cutting will be removable.

 

[opps]

My thoughts' alligator saw
very expensive blades
recip saw two batons secured far side off blade blade width apart and follow line shoe side
avoid any chop/plunge/track/table saw with a spinning blade as wet timber and pinching on a high speed blade is massive build up off momentum and energy with possible danger where as a recip/jigsaw blade has little danger other than a bit off juddering or jumping

The reciprocating saw with batons is an interesting idea but given that the sleepers are hard wood, if the reciprocating saw were to deviate, wouldn't it ignore the softwood battons.

My thoughts' alligator saw
very expensive blades
recip saw two batons secured far side off blade blade width apart and follow line shoe side
avoid any chop/plunge/track/table saw with a spinning blade as wet timber and pinching on a high speed blade is massive build up off momentum and energy with possible danger where as a recip/jigsaw blade has little danger other than a bit off juddering or jumping

I have been looking elsewhere on the interwebs and found a post by @JobAndKnock from 2011 where he says that an alligator saw will be fine, but, as you say, the blades are expensive. He says that he was getting 4 to 8 cuts from 200 yr old 12" by 4" pitch pine.

Sleeper saw? - www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I haven't seen him around here for a while. I hope he is OK. To date I have not encountered anyone else who has a matching encyclopaedia-ic knowledge of tools.

Whilst not wanting to prematurely pen his epitaph, I hope he, and, his other half, appreciate(s) how many thousands of people he has helped over the years.

I sincerely hope to see him back soon. He is a top fellow with what seems to be a highly calibrated moral compass.

 

[big-all]

yes the saw will want to wander but because the blade will be held "flat" at both ends there is resistance to counteract the lean and curve tendencies that probably will happen
curve off line may happen but that can only happen when the top off the blade reaches any damage to the batten edge caused by the teeth

and i am sure j&k will be back when he sees what carp i keep posting

 

[opps]

yes the saw will want to wander but because the blade will be held "flat" at both ends there is resistance to counteract the lean and curve tendencies that probably will happen

and i am sure j&k will be back when he sees what carp i keep posting

I sincerely hope that you are correct on both counts but apropos the latter, it has been a number of weeks since he last posted and in the post that I linked to, he would be in his 70's. I genuinely hope that he reads this an b'loxes me for "age shaming" him. xxx

 

[big-all]

he is an old bu66er he is at least 9 months older than me [September from memory lol]

 

[opps]

I measured the sleepers today.

They are 160mm by 250mm.

I guess that I need to double check the size of my circular saw.

I am still gravitating to buying an alligator saw, but slightly concerned about possibly needing two sets of pairs of blades to do the job. The customer won't question the cost of the blades and I guess that the alligator will be the safest option, but if is going to take hours for each cut I may fall back to the circular saw.

 

[^woody^]

I've been using Japanese saws for a good few years now, and one of the advantages over "normal" hand saws is that pulling is easier than pushing - and you can use two hands and get extra help from your upper body. Another advantage is that getting a straight cut is guaranteed, as long as you start off correctly.

I have in the past, cut through sleepers and other thick timber with relative ease using a Ryoba pattern saw, and that's ease of cut and not being tiring either. An fast too, so you won't need to take three weeks.

The only thing to be aware of, and few of the online "experts" tell you, is that the saw teeth size is matched to the saw length. So for first fix, or rough sawing, you'll need at least a 300mm blade to get suitably aggressive teeth.

I would suggest that such a saw would be more useful for future use than paying out for one of the power saws mentioned and then looking for uses for it.

And for clarity, I'm referring to proper Japanese saws, not western "pull saws" or £9.99 specials from Lidl and made in China.