Preservative Treatments of Fence Posts

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Preservative Treatments

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of Fence Posts

1940 Progress Report on the Post Farm

By

T. J. STARKER

Bulletin Series,

No. 9-B

November 1940

(supplement B to Bulletin No. 9, issued Decemoer 1938)

A Project of the School of Foresti

Engineering Experiment Station Oregon State System of Higher Education

-:

THE Oregon State Engineering Experiment Station was established by act of the Board of Regents of the College on May 4, 1927. It is the purpose of the Station to serve the state in a manner broadly outlined by the following policy:

(1)To stimulate and elevate engineering education by developing the research spirit in faculty and students.

(2) To serve the industries, utilities, professional

engi-neers, public departments, and engineering teachers by

making investigations of interest to them.

(3) To publish and distribute by bulletins, circulars, and technical articles in periodicals the results of such studies, sur-veys, tests, investigations, and researches as will be of greatest benefit to the people of Oregon, and particularly to the state's

industries, utilities, and professional engineers.

To make available the results of the investigations con-ducted by the Station three types of publications are issued. These are:

(1) Bulletins covering original investigations. (2) Circulars giving compilations of useful data.

(3) Reprints giving more general distribution to scien-tific papers or reports previously published elsewhere, as for example, in the proceedings of professional societies.

Single copies of publications are sent free on request to residents of Oregon, to libraries, and to other experiment stations exchanging publications. As long as available, addi-tional copies, or copies to others are sent at prices covering cost of printing.

The price of this

bulletin supplement is

15 cents.

For copies of publications or for other information

address

Oregon State Engineering Experiment Station, Corvallis, Oregon

Preservative Treatments of Fence Posts

1940 Progress Report

on

The Post Farm

By

T. J. STARKER,

Professor of Forestry

On October 12, 1940, 'The Post Farm" received its annual inspection and all posts that failed to resist a 50-lb pull 2 feet from the ground were considered to have failed. The following number of posts failed in the various series

indicated:

Series Species Treatment

8 Douglas-fir Carb. \Vood Pres. Co.

9 Port Orford cedar Tops, open tank

12 Douglas-fir ZnCl2, steeped

15 White fir Nonesplit

15 Douglas-fir Crankcase oil and creosote

21 Port Orford cedar Nonesplit

22 Douglas-fir Charred

31 Sitka spruce None-4 x 4 rough 34 Western white pine None-4 x 4 rough

35 Sugar pine None-4 x 4 rough

36 Ponderosa pine None-4 x 4 rough

37 Western larch None-4 x 4 S4S

38 Western hemlock None-4 x 4 rough

39 Douglas-fir Aspl1alt emulsion

47 Cascara Noneround

Total removed 10/12/40

Removed Total Removed

10/12/40 ToDate 2 14 1 1 1 24 1 19 2 6 1 1 1 25 (100%) 4 21 2 24 2 17 2 20 2 17 2 22 1 25 (100%) 1 1 25

This number removed, 25, is far less than last year when 59 posts were

taken out.

For those who desire to keep their tables up to date, it is again suggested that the above information can be inserted on page 12 of your copy of

Bul-letin No. 9.

In the 1939 progress report (Bulletin Series, No. 9-A), mention was made of receiving 25 redwood posts of foundation grade from the Holmes-Eureka Lumber Company, Eureka, California. These were planted in the farm on December 20, 1939. We hope others who are interested in wood preservation will contribute other species and processed material to add to the value of the

farm, which has contained to date 1,442 posts.

As indicated in the above table, two more series have been completely removed; and the cascara posts, consisting of 12 small specimens, were all removed at the examination in 1939. The following chart is Figure 5 from Bulletin No. 9 brought up to date.

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SPECIES

AVERAGE SERVICE OF POSTS THAT HAVE FAILED 100 PER CENT. THE FIRST FIVE WERE

WITHOUT TREATMENT, THE OTHER ThREE TREATED AS INDICATED.

Interesting facts, that are borne out by similar tests, show that Douglas-fir untreated is more durable than when charred or coated with asphalt emulsion. Untreated, the above chart shows a life of 84 months, while the charred posts had an average life of 76 months and asphalt-emulsion-coated posts 75 months. The graph line of 57 months for cascara is not a comparable figure with the other series, as these samples were small, 2 to 3 inches in diameter. For such small posts their service life was very good. A new series of cascara posts of larger size, 4 to 5 inches in diameter, were placed on January 29, 1938.

Attention should also be called to the other series of posts planted at the

same time, September 20, 1933, as the asphalt-emulsion-treated Douglas-fir posts that have failed completely. In the same time 24 western white pine posts had

been removed, 21 Sitka spruce, 20 ponderosa pine, 17 sugar pine, and 17 western

larch, indicating that none of these species are very durable in this particular

climate. This is especially surprising with western larch, which has had a good reputation in Eastern Oregon for durability.

THE ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT

STATION STAFF

R. H. DEARBORN, Dean and Director of Engineering. S. H. GRAF, Director of Engineering Research. A. L. ALBERT, Communication Engineering. F. A. EVEREST, Radio Engineering. G. W. GLEESON, Chemical Engineering.

BURDETTE GLENN, Highway Engineering.

J. R. GRIFFITI-I, Structural Engineering. F. 0. MCMJLLAN, Electrical Engineering. W. H. MARTIN, Mechanical Engineering. E. G. MASON, Forestry.

FRED MERRYFIELD, Sanitary Engineering.

C. A. MOCKMORE, Civil and Hydraulic Engineering. W. H. PAUL, Automotive Engineering.

B. F. RUFFNER, Aeronautical Engineering. E. C. STARR, Electrical Engineering. C. E. THOMAS, Engineering Materials.

GLENN VOORHIES, Wood Products.

Technical Counselors

R. H. BALDOCK, State Highway Engineer, Salem.

C. B. MCCULLOUGH, Assistant State Highway Engineer, Salem. R. G. DIECK, Consulting Civil Engineer, Portland.

C. V. LANGTON, Professor of Hygiene, Oregon State College.

J. C. H. LEE, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Division Engineer, North Pacific

Division, Portland.

PAUL B. MCKEE, President, Portland Gas and Coke Company, Portland. J. H. POLHEMUS, President, Portland General Electric Company. J. C. STEVENS, Consulting Civil and Hydraulic Engineer, Portland. C. E. STRICKLIN, State Engineer, Salem.

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Corvallis

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