Telephone Pole Timbers

[judaspre1982]

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DT aka Agent Orange is a POS
Liar Liar his wonky comb over is on fire

[woodburner]

Nice wood for what they are. They do not look like they are soaked with any type of oil and look clean. Most poles and their parts are made from the local wood sources (closest mill, etc.) to save on shipping and such. They are more likely some type of pine or other softwood as these are used more in construction grade projects than others.

If you can check with the contact from the company replacing the poles, he's probably the best source for knowing the type and age of the wood and whether it has been chemically treated as most telephone poles are. Some chemically treated wood is dangerous to cut in the shop and use for projects. From the photos they don't look like any old growth type of wood. It unfortunately doesn't look like furniture grade wood from what I can tell from the photos.

I would check on the history of the wood before bringing it into my shop. Some free wood isn't worth being free. The person getting rid of it doesn't have to pay to haul it away, so they don't care who ends up with it in the end.

[2bits]

What a great source for some nice wood. I know of a couple of local power companies that are starting their pole inspections. One company is replacing the bad poles with metal ones. I will check to see what they are doing with the mounting timbers. I may get lucky like you did:D

[nuhobby]

Old growth lumber is highly beautiful. But I've also seen a show and an article by Roy Underhill, showing that old-growth wood isn't as strong as newer/ faster-growth wood.

[judaspre1982]

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[cincinnati]

You should grab all you can store.

[beeg]

From the photos they don't look like any old growth type of wood. It unfortunately doesn't look like furniture grade wood from what I can tell from the photos.

I seriously doubt that they wood use old growth wood. Even if it could be had. Furniture grade wood????

[curiousgeorge]

Hi Woodburner

You bring up very valid points.
From what we know so far these timbers were going directly to a landfill.
Cherry Island to be exact.
The Solid Waste Authority here in DE has a strict policy on what goes into the landfill. We have mandatory recycling and anything coming from a commercial construction site is strictly monitored.These timbers where heading to the main section of the landfill.Anything of a hazardous nature is separated and goes to a designated area.

The guy we are getting the timbers from said the only thing he is aware they used back when these poles were put up was creosote, and that was used on the bottom of the pole below grade.

Here are some pics of a timber I did tonight. This one has very tight/straight grain.
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I see a few heavy duty work benches being made in the future.

Dave

This looks like it could be cedar. I have a few boards that look a lot like this.

[woodburner]

Hi Beeg,

Furniture grade wood is any type of wood that will not warp, twist, shrink or swell excessively and is of a close grain type of wood. Wood that is considered construction grade can and usually will do all the things listed above and is open grain (larger and fewer fibers running though it) as most pines and certain softwoods are.

And yes, they use to make telephone poles out of old growth wood. Some areas around my home still have poles standing and in use made from old growth redwood. Where I live in CA, it was only 50 yrs. ago that they were still harvesting some of the old redwoods and bringing them down from the Sierra's and using the lumber in all kinds of construction. There are still hundreds of farm houses, packing houses, etc. standing and in use where I live made of old growth redwood. It is still a viable conclusion that you can find telephone poles still in use today made of old growth timber all across the country.

[bffulgham]

.....

Here are some pics of a timber I did tonight. This one has very tight/straight grain......
I see a few heavy duty work benches being made in the future.

Dave

Another possibility might be red fir. Fir has a very similar smell to pine when being worked.