ripping wet lumber

[Matt Ellis]

i have a project that i am getting ready to start for my sweet wife. i am essentially building a 1 way lattice around our screened porch, and it will require ripping about 600 linear feet of pressure treated pine. my 2x4's are fresh from the treating vessel, and are soaking wet. i have them stickered in the garage right now in an attempt to dry them to some degree, but they'll still be pretty wet when it is time to get started ripping.

my question: do i need to do anything special as far as protecting my table saw from the wet sawdust? i plan on cleaning everything as soon as i am done. anything more required?

thanks!

-matt

[Ken Higginbotham]

Just a note Matt, I was looking at ripping some lattice myself for a project and found Home Depot had the PT lattice strips at something like .80 cents a pc. so I decided to just buy what I needed. There were some pieces that were un-usable but most were fine.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Mat, it's not something I would do.

The wood is wet, and full of internal stresses, once you start ripping the wood will twist and curve, great recipe for a kickback accident.

As well you'll be breathing a mixture of wood preservative and dust, not to mention the mess it will make out of your saw.

Once you've ripped the pieces, they won't be pressure treated any longer.

Either buy dry seasoned wood, rip it and then treat it, or purchase the strips ready to go from a supplier.

Regards, Rod.

[Randy Cohen]

I don't think this is a good idea...the saw blade will spray you with chemical laden moisture from the lumber.

[Dino Makropoulos]

my question: do i need to do anything special as far as protecting my table saw from the wet sawdust? i plan on cleaning everything as soon as i am done. anything more required?

thanks!

-matt

matt, protect yourself from the toxic stuff and make sure you're using a riving knife/splitter.
the binding is constant and the wood is no straight to start.
you must have one straight edge to start using the tablesaw for ripping.
with that in mind...take it easy and good luck.
If you can use the green lumber for something else, do what Ken did.

good luck.

ps. very good advice on the above posts.
I wished they had the same warnings posted on the stores.

[Matt Ellis]

ken,

do you happen to know the dimensions? if they're around 1/8" thick, i am planning on making my own. i can get 5 strips about 19/32" out of each 2x4, and they'll be much more durable for when my kid slams into it with her trike.


-matt

[John Callahan]

Probably too late now but you could have used KDAT (Kiln Dried After Treatment) PT lumber. It's generally more stable and can be finished right away ......... provided your dealer stored it properly. As for the saw; I'm assuming the PT is ACQ- it's pretty corrosive but if you give the saw a good cleaning you should be fine. I'd wear a mask and gloves while cutting and use stainless fasteners.

[Ken Higginbotham]

I'm not sure Matt. In my limited experience I do know PT is bad juju around nice equipment. I had a 2' pc of PT 2x4 clamped to my new band saw as a guide and when I removed it after a couple of hours you could see discoloration in the table top. :eek:

Edit: Also ripping 2x stock is not as great as it sounds because they warp and twist and will yield crooked strips of varying thicknesses. If you still want to rip your own lattice I would suggest doing some test strips before committing to do a big job...

[Matt Ellis]

after reading the replies, i believe i am going to return the lumber, and pick up some untreated 2x4's. truthfully, i wasn't really thrilled with the thought of running all that wet wood across/through my saw anyway. looks like sweet wife will get to wield a paint brush for a while! :p

thanks guys!

-matt

[Ken Higginbotham]

Another option would be to buy something wider like 2x8's and the ripping will be a lot easier.

[Howard Acheson]

Pressure treated lumber is very corrosive. You will quickly end up with staining on your cast iron. In addition, the wet pressure treated sawdust in your saw box will cause rust on any unpainted iron or steel components.

[jim carter]

return and use redwood

[John Thompson]

Great info here as the PT is nasty for you and your saw. It is also the most dangerous to rip IMO. I rip for hire but would under no circumstances rip pressure treat with my TS as I can tell you from experience you are likely to get kick-back.

If you do rip it.. you can count on the wood closing on the dangerous rear rising teeth or opening and sometime very wide. Even a splitter or riving knife can't help in some cases as they are thinner than the blade kerf. The force from closing PT can flex the splitter so the wood touches or it could just lightly touch which is enough to get kick-back started. Once is starts it choses it's own course so don't have your hands anywhere near the blade.

As far as opening.. it can open with such force the already cut portion hits the rear fence and rebounds back into the rear rising teeth for the blade. A short fence can eliminate this as there is not fence beyond the center of the blade.

And if I did cut it.. I would also use a plastic gaurd and a hold-down piece of scrap clamped firmly on the fence to help keep the stock from riding up and over.

But.. as you have chosen to do from your comment.. the best method is just not to rip PT on a TS.. ;)

Sarge..

[Kendall Landry]

Cypress would also be nice.