Lumber cutting question

[aart]

But, I wasn't even sure cutting them down was even possible. Didn't want to go ask the guy and have him look at me like I had 3 heads...

Well, it's possible, but may be very difficult on a typical band saw.
The saw can likely cut that, but it's handling the large timber for it to do so.
May need to cut 12' down to 8' and 4' before re-sawing.
Tell them "I know this is probably a long shot, but can you cut this?"
They may have other resources, tools, or techniques that you are unaware of.

 

[HamsterStyle]

If they are brand new, you can probably return them to where you bought them and get what you want. It's very common to order extra and return unused portion on decks and what not

 

[pintail_drake2004]

If you are wanting very short sections, say <4', then a person could cut the timbers into 4' sections. Any decent bandsaw with a resawing blade could resaw the pieces easily, but any longer than 4' would be hard to manage on a bandsaw. I'd still opt for a sawmill if returning them isn't an option.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd return them if that's an option. If it's not an option, you can always plan an other building project!

 

[bjmoose]

So far, nobody has mentioned the fact that you're talking about "ground contact" lumber aka "pressure treated" lumber. It's pressure treated to inject chemical protectant into the outside edge of the wood. If you do succeed in ripping it down to smaller nominal pieces of wood, it won't be "ground contact" lumber anymore. It'll just be rough cut lumber that has one or two weird edges.

Also, your dimensions will end up weird.

Nominal "6x6" lumber is actually 5.5" x 5.5"

Nominal "2x6" lumber is actually 1.5" x 5.5"

So if you try to rip the 6x6 into 3 pieces of 2x6, you'll end up with weird dimensions. I can't guess exactly what they'll be, because the blade takes a variable amount. Probably somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4"

The weird dimensions don't seem so important until you try and integrate the pieces with other cut lengths to end up with a square and plumb structure.

 

[bjmoose]

I get where you're coming from. That's gotta be well over $300 of lumber. It's a shame not to use it. If you can't return it, perhaps you can sell it on craigslist. Folks are building fences all the time and you've got some high-grade fenceposts there.