When I was making tie loads for Weaver, I was making about four or five hundred at a time. I made a special narrow kerf insert for the table saw, and would cut the width using that. I made a fence for the band saw, and used it to cut the height on several pieces at one time. Then I clamped a stop on the miter saw, and cut several pieces to length at the same time. I would do this at work, on lunches and breaks. You'd be surprised how many ties one can make in half hour sessions. The key is having sharp blades on all the machinery.
I measured several old ties that I knew were very old, and used the largest dimensions as my reference to make mine. The width is just shy of 1/4", as most ties measured between 10 and 11 inches wide. For the height, I used 3/16", as my prototypes measured between 7 and 9 inches high.
Don
