Replies

1. 
   john_c2 | Oct 22, 2021 08:55pm | #1

   If some have rotted, odds are the others are on their way. If it were me, I'd probably replace them all.

   Keep in mind that all pressure treated lumber is not the same. There are different grades of wood, and different levels of treatment. The stuff at the big box stores won't last long in contact with the ground or moisture.

2. 
   _mj_ | Oct 22, 2021 11:04pm | #2

   Since it's a planter filled with soil just match the outside lines, once you fiĺl it with dirt it becomes invisible.

3. 
   roy.unit8c | Oct 23, 2021 08:28am | #3

   If your considering redoing your planter here's an interesting video:
   https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ann+of+all+trades+planter&&view=detail&mid=DCD1342C67E6F422F62CDCD1342C67E6F422F62C&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dann%2Bof%2Ball%2Btrades%2Bplanter%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

   This wasn't the video I was first thinking of because of smaller planter boxes. The idea of using cedar though is a good idea instead of PT lumber.

4. 
   rexwoodman | Mar 26, 2022 07:24pm | #4

   Thanks folks! I should have explained further that this is a massive 6-sided asymmetrical wraparound that's only 3 timbers high. It appears all the rest of the timbers are in good shape. It would be best to replace only what's necessary.
   One idea I had would be to cut down a 4" X 6" timber to size. The only thing I'd have to after that is try to match the curved side surface, as with landscape timbers.
   What do you all think of me using a curved-blade spokeshave to match the curve? As MJ suggested, I'd really only have to do this on the outside, below grade.

1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 26, 2022 07:46pm | #5

   You want to spokeshave pressure treated landscape timbers?

   I'm on candid camera, right?

5. 
   _mj_ | Mar 26, 2022 09:28pm | #6

   I'd go with a couple of shallow-angled rips at the tablesaw followed up with a belt sander.

1. 
   rexwoodman | Mar 26, 2022 09:42pm | #7

   MJ - thanks for your thoughtful suggestion and gracious reply. I like this idea. What made me think of the spokeshave is...folks use them for rounding table legs, etc. Why not use an old spokeshave to shape the landscape timbers.
   Your method would be less laborious.

6. 
   _mj_ | Mar 26, 2022 09:49pm | #8

   FYI: you would use a flat spokeshave for the convex cuts in your crazypants method.

7. 
   rob_ss | Mar 27, 2022 02:40am | #9

   The solution is to buy fence posts of the appropriate diameter and plane the flats on with a jointer and a planer. Once you have jointed a flat enough to be stable side then you can just use the planer.

   Contrary to common opinion, this will not harm the tools, but if the wood is wet, make sure to clean any shreds off as soon as you are done.

   I clean out my DC before doing treated timber as I compost (or chicken) the sawdust. The treated chips go into landfill or are added as mulch to flower beds. I don't mind a few bits getting through, but it's best not to have toxins in the compost.

1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 27, 2022 06:11am | #11

   I'm just starting to compost. Are there wood species of chips or dust to avoid using.

1. 
   rob_ss | Mar 28, 2022 03:08am | #15

   Not really. Certainly not from the hobbyist woodworker or even the one man band professional perspective. None of the regular furniture woods are an issue in compost at that level. Besides, composting will destroy pretty much any natural toxin.

   Walnut has a bad rep, and has been shown to inhibit plant growth in large quantities but Hobby furniture levels of walnut seem to compost fine - probably sawmill quantities would be less good.
   Some woods are inherently toxic, but are not a problem in the compost, though I'd probably get a professional to dispose of Oleander. I like to put the DC dust in the compost directly, and the planer/lathe shavings are used as chicken bedding first before going on the heap.

   I have used most major furniture woods - pine, white oak, walnut, maple and cherry, cedar in large quantities - all are fine. As I said above, I don't put treated timber in the compost but that's mostly because I sometimes eat what is grown in the product and don't fancy the risk.

   Compost waffle follows:

   If you have animals you need to be a bit careful - hemlock and Kowhai are toxic and animals like to eat them when wilted. I put these at the bottom of the heap then cover with a generous quantity of manure. If I can't do that until they are rotted then I screen the bins off to be safe.

   I get really good compost primarily by not overthinking it.

   The key for me is:

   1. Lots of manure. about 50% is perfect. Horse poo is usually free if you pick your own!
   2. Keep it moist but not wet. I use a sprinkler in summer.
   3. Turn it often. I use three bins and when the middle one is looking mostly decomposed, I turn the finished bin, add the middle bin on top of that then move the starter bin contents to the middle. If the first bin is looking a bit dry then turning it and bringing some stuff up from the bottom always solves the issue.
   I'm making about 2 tonnes of compost each year now due to the boss liking horses, but a small tractor makes short work of it.

   What is interesting is that adding plenty of sawdust, especially shavings seems to speed the decomposition. It provides a nice moisture retention but won't saturate with water so it helps the manure to break down.

1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 28, 2022 04:01pm | #20

   Thanks. Great information.

8. 
   pantalones868 | Mar 27, 2022 04:06am | #10

   If your old timbers are old enough they are likely CCA treated. Chromated copper arsenate (as in arsenic.) The chromium isn't much good for you either. The CCA that was used for everything (decks, docks) is now largely baned as it does leach into soil and water and kills you slowly. They knew it for years and years and finally put a stop to it. Back in the day we used to refer to it as "salt treated"---well, arsenic is a salt ! Newer stuff is most likely coppernaphthinate which is some sort of petroleum derived chemical. It does leach copper apparently. It's use for planter beds is considered OK by many but the copper has been detected in some plants. For some reason, I read, children who have a lot of contact with PT lumber show elevated levels of copper. So if your growing food in your planter beds forget an " organic" certification!
   I know of some lumber yards that will not permit their employees to cut pressure treated lumber. Big sign right over the radial arm saw. Someone must have read the product safety data sheet! So if your thinking of grinding away on some peeler core you might want to take precautions. I myself have used a product called copper green which is copper naphthenate on many outdoor projects and I have become somewhat reactive to it. Now just getting a wiff of the stuff makes me a little sick and a thumping bad headache!

9. 
   [email protected] | Mar 27, 2022 11:06am | #12

   I do not know where you live at but have you looked into a marine bulkhead company they have all sizes of of lumber that they use in their bulkheads just a thought.

1. 
   rexwoodman | Mar 28, 2022 10:18am | #16

   Good thought. We're in upstate NY, so not marine territory per se.

10. 
    ds_nect | Mar 27, 2022 06:10pm | #13

    I would use a hand held power planer to create the curved face. Between the amount of material removal involved and the presence of knots and all kinds of wet recalcitrant wood and grain runout in the fast-grown SYP, I can't imagine doing this at any real scale with handtools, unless maybe you have timber framing /hand hewn beam-type skilz and tools.

    If you can remove some of the waste with an initial rip with a tilted blade, that would likely save time and certainly produce a lot mess. If you do this with a table saw, make sure your set-up is up to the task. Thick, long PT posts tend to be very heavy and unwieldy and often have lots of internal stress, even when they are fairly dry (which they probably are not, if you just bought them). The likelihood of stalling the table saw, knocking the fence out of alignment, etc. is a lot higher than with most material used for woodworking projects. Unless the post were quite straight and quite dry, I personally would use a hand held circular saw with a rip guide, in lieu of the table saw. This may be a case where it's easier to bring the tool to the work than vice versa, even if the tool has less capacity.

11. 
    stantheman | Mar 27, 2022 11:14pm | #14

    I'd check some other lumber retailers before I committed to that difficult a task. I was at my local hardware/garden supply store today and noticed three different sizes of timbers all jumbled together in a stack.

1. 
   rexwoodman | Mar 28, 2022 10:21am | #17

   I'll have to look. The closest I think I can get is a 4" X 6" (5.5" X 3 5/8" nominal). This would require ripping an inch off the width and 1/2" off the thickness. DS_NECT makes a very good point that a 8' or 10' PT 4X6 timber is mighty tough to wield on a table saw. Don't know what else to do. Here's where a friend with a portable board saw would come in handy!

12. 
    rexwoodman | Mar 28, 2022 10:42am | #18

    Here's a couple pics to help put this in perspective.

    
13. 
    john_c2 | Mar 28, 2022 11:01am | #19

    What I might do is pull all the timbers from the most rotted sides, and replace those with new. If any timbers on the dismantled side were good, use them to replace rotted parts on the other sides.

    Sooner or later all of that will fail. Pressure treated in contact with the ground isn't magic. What I would do if that were mine is to start replacing one side at a time with stone or block. Then you'll never have to worry about it again.

14. 
    largeb | Mar 28, 2022 08:08pm | #21

    I would rip it out and make a natural stone wall rather than spoke shave or belt sand PT. That high it should be simple job with flat stone varieties. Should look much better than PT.