They have been replacing the telephone poles on my street, since before Christmas. I asked the linesmen about the poles and they have given me 30 some poles, so far.

I am planning to use some poles for line and gate posts. I have access to a portable saw mill and have a metal detector to remove all the nails and staples. There is probably 30 pounds of copper ground wire stapled to the poles and some huge bolts.

I thought about making some raised beds, but I am concerned about the wood preservatives used. Are they an issue?

I have also thought about building a large tower, box blind for deer hunting too.

Any other good uses for the poles?

Keith

Back stop for shooting range

know of a guy that build a cabin out of them turn out great

Shed pilings or skids.

You can put one in a spot that doesn’t have a good tree , and then put a ladder stand there. Somewhere that only
has brush or small trees for cover.

Keith,
I think the inside of the pole would be ok for using in a raised bed. Take to the saw mill and cut off the outside inch or so to clean wood.

Can be used as a rudimentary cover crop roller. Chain it to the back of a tractor or vehicle and go to town. Might want to cut it into halves/quarters.

Creosote on them poles wouldn't be good for a garden.

Tree stands

Some of those old poles are not treated. They are cedar and when split make great split rail for fencing or even building material if you have a sawmill. LLL

Pole barn posts.
Pavilion posts
And ADC is right about them not being good for gardening, unless you line the inside

corner posts for barbwire fence. put an ad on craigslist. you wont have them very long.

Now you tell me Lol

Depending on what type of wood they are, and the size of the pole , you can make some nice lumber. I have used them to build my pole barn. Milled rafters ., strapping etc . I worked for a utility and had access to lots of them. If you happen to get some western cedar, they may be just butt treated . The upper logs can be used for interior work. Got some yellow pine. Have been making bird houses. Pile them up off the ground , you will be amazed what you will think up. old243

Deadfall set for Bigfoot

They say floating particles can be harmful.
So if I breathe some in, a smoke a cigarette and that don't float around in my lungs
So they can't hurt me

Pig castrator... put the pig's under parts on a flat rock, take a crane and lift the pole above the flat rock and... well, you know.

I have used a lot of them for many different purposes. I used them for my foundation buried in ground and built cabin on top of them. I also built a shop and pole barn/garage and fencing.

Are the pole for phone or electric. My guess the poles are from an electric supplier not a phone company.

The preservative is pretty much gone by the time they are replaced. The white soft ones are cedar. They are usually class 1. Which is a bigger diameter. They can be saw into beautiful beams.

Build yourself a nice dock. If you don't have a pond make one, it might be easier to build the dock while making a new pond.

Trap stake for the MB 1050 Sascuatch special. Don't forget to order the 68 Dodge Dart shock coil spring kit, prevents Bigfoot damage.

Osky

boat dock

Goose nest poles for platforms. Wrap a metal cylinder to keep out coons. Cross section to make a walk way?

You can make a thousand raccoon boards and sell them for $10 each. Bang bang!

people in this area use them for pole sheds or hay sheds if they are in good shape.

They make great drags.

Glad you posted . I got some I was going to build a lento on my shed. But at 62 could be to much work.

Sawmill lumber from creosote poles for the hen house.

poles for my deer stand platform

We built a cattle pen and loading chute they ain’t jumping over or going thru.

Build a fort.

I was thinking the ground wire on poles wasn't solid copper. Copper coated steel of some kind?

Be interesting to know what kind of wood they are. Years ago the railroad abandoned an old telegraph line that ran along the tracks and a buddy of mine who worked for them was allowed to take all he wanted. I helped him for a couple weekends and as it turns out they were made of American chestnut, no preservatives in them at all. They sawed into some beautiful boards but you had to use care to get the metal out of them.

Zim

If they were electrical pole and had a ground they were copper/solid copper. Phone overhead line poles I have no clue.

Thanks everybody for your responses.

The poles are electrical poles. I don't know what type of wood they are. I can smell a creosote like smell from around 100 feet away on them, probably mostly from the bases, that were buried.

The ground wire is heavy, very malleable copper.

The linesmen cut the tops off the poles, to keep from bumping the new lines, when they pulled the old poles. They are still mostly around 30 foot long.

If I use them for raised beds, will painting them keep them from leaching chemicals into the soil? Would plastic sheeting work too?

Keith

I used 2 poles for a bridge. I laid them across a small ravine and screwed my cross decking down to them. I drive my ranger across them to collect maple sap. Very strong bridge.

Most of the utilities are happy to find someone to take them. Otherwise it costs them to have them, properly recycled.. Also save the bolts , washers, staples, brace irons, etc around a farm you will find uses for them. See if they have any cross arms . They are douglas fir , and very handy, to have old243

There should be some steel tag labels with the manufacture dates on them to give a date of manufacture, 1955 is about when they began treating.

The problem with raised beds is everything is good till the plant roots get to them the wet dry conditions and the plants die cause they take in the toxins.

Sometimes only the bottoms are treated and you see the drill holes where they are soaked.

always watch for yellow cedar and you have something worth it.

With all the dust that settles in them bandsaws really go dull fast, and they are really splinter so making boards is a waste of time

Since you can smell creosote means they were treated might want to Google health effects
Just saying. Pretty nasty stuff

Keith, as a warning as you did not mention it, the poles were treated or infused with creosote. It is like Lysol in that type of product, but it will burn the skin if ruptured. I have watched our linemen here do on sight treatment if it gets on exposed skin.

They will be fine for raised beds. The poles are no more dangerous than old railroad posts which are used for the same purpose.

Just know that the bottom of the posts is where in time the creosote settles and why they never rot while the tops will deteriorate. The best use for them is to sell them to someone who wants to put up a do it yourself pole shed.

Always wanted one to build a nesting platform for Eagle or osprey on my property but having spent a few days camped by an osprey nest in the BWCA the near constant CHATTERING(even at night) made me rethink the project. A pair of poles would make a nice bridge base for my ATV across that washes out what ever I've built so far that doesn't fully span it every spring. 4' wide,2' deep in summer. 20' wide, 5'deep each spring.

Check it with a magnet, many times it's a copper coated steel or copper/steel alloy. Lot's cheaper.
I built a 10 ft span foot bridge over my creek with 6 of them side by side, decked with treated 2 x 12's.
Leaching Creosote can be toxic to live stock, and people.

Don't forget the osprey's leftovers...we went down to Charleston, SC a free years ago and went to the USS Yorktown and an osprey had a nest up above the bridge. You could smell the fish pretty strong and a few kills were laying on the deck below.

As for the baldies...our county conservation club has placed two nest poles which have to be at least 50' above ground. We have eagles near both boxes but only once has had a sniff of a bird using it.

Need a bridge anywhere?

We were given some that had to be pulled, Friend cut decking size boards out of them. Nasty to handle the creosote /oils But boy they bead up water. i would not want them too near my house but to keep out of mud at a camp.... plus he said they cut super east on the bandmill

We made a elevated coyote hunting shack for our bait pile with insulation and heat.

I built a big swing set with 2 swings from poles. It also serves as a Tarzan rope and a zip line platform
I put it right beside my pond

I would doubt most saw mills will touch them. To much metal and it only take a little to dull a mill blade. There are probably metals in them that the detector won't pick up so I think most mills would feed you beans. Now, if you have a buddy with a home mill or use a chain saw attachment, you could make lumber.

They can be used to build a rudimentary birth control device.

Make sure to always wear a helmet, eye goggles, a respirator, a hazmat suit, steel toe boots, and shoulder length rubber gauntlets.

Actually, I wouldn't mind getting a few myself. I want to build a dock when I make the pond bigger and maybe a greenhouse overhanging the pond. They will be perfect for the main posts. I'll have to look into it in my area when I'm ready.