Treated Lumber

[Tim Boger]

I have a customer that needs some pieces @ 5" diameter X 5" Tall

If I wear a dust mask / Respirator is it reasonably safe to turn a treated 6X6 into what I want?

I really don't want to get 3/4" and glue it up ... could if I have to.

Thanks,
Tim

[Reed Gray]

I would avoid the treated lumber if at all possible. Depends on what the customer wants. I would try to get cedar or redwood if at all possible, or use some thing else and use a couple of coats of very thin spar varnish followed by thicker coats. Oh, if you don't know both cedar and redwood are woods that you become sensitive to...

robo hippy

[Dennis Ford]

I would turn a few without too much worry. Treated wood is pretty wet when you get it and won't make much dust. I would be careful to wash up well after turning before eating anything and would not consider this if it is a production thing will lots of items.

[michael a miller]

The heavy metals, i.e. arsenic, were removed from the treating process years ago. Still, as with any wood, use a dust mask.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

why not start with round, treated poles? if you have McCoy's Lumber near you, they should sell them.

[Tom Giacomo]

I turned a lot of blasters out of PT wood. Wear a respirator clean up well afterward and a good hot shower.

[John K Jordan]

Most treated lumber is pretty wet inside, especially the larger sizes. You can buy KDAT which is klin dried but I have looked for 6x6 KDAT.

Another thing I found out a few years ago that may possibly be an issue. Not all treatment results in a uniform internal color. I bought a bunch of 16' 6x6 posts that were the characteristic green on the outside but inside were more white. I contacted the company that treated them, thinking they were not treated in the middle, and they assured me they were treated all the way through but the process resulted in a lighter color inside. (Sounded fishy to me but some offcuts laying on the ground are still good after six years.)

JKJ

[michael a miller]

You were thinking correctly, John. The center of a 6x6 post is typically heart wood, which is more dense, and does not accept the treatment well, if at all. The treating requirements for "foundation grade" treatment limit the amt. of heartwood for this very reason.

[Paul Girouard]

I turned a lot of blasters out of PT wood. Wear a respirator clean up well afterward and a good hot shower.

What is a blaster?

[Paul Girouard]

I have a customer that needs some pieces @ 5" diameter X 5" Tall

If I wear a dust mask / Respirator is it reasonably safe to turn a treated 6X6 into what I want?

I really don't want to get 3/4" and glue it up ... could if I have to.

Thanks,
Tim

5” round x 5” Long pieces of PT wood? They’ll split , I’m wondering why some one would want or need PT wood in that shape.

[John K Jordan]

Tim,

I noticed yesterday that I have three 16' PT 6x6 posts on one of my trailers, sitting and air drying now for almost 7 years. You are welcome to cut off some pieces if you want. They are already cracked down the sides so you don't have to worry about that. (Nearly every piece of square construction grade lumber over 2" on a side that I've bought for many years has been cut with the pith somewhere in the center so they always crack as they dry.)

JKJ

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

What is a blaster?

I assumed he meant "Baluster"