For a very long time I've designed and built most of my own bee equipment, especially bottom boards, supers and covers, but only a few frames. Recently I considered how much it was costing me for lumber and then the time and effort to turn lumber into equipment. I saw a posting about Mr. Cheesman and his BeeBabys.com website in Manchester, Ohio. Their prices for ready to assemble supers was very attractive, as well as their offer of free shipping on every order.
So my wife Diane and I made some inquiries:
We wanted to know if they could make a few customizations to our order, in particular we wanted our 8-frame supers to be cut 14 inches wide (creating 12-1/2" inside width), and without any handholds (we prefer our own end cleats). They readily agreed to our specs, and without any additional cost to us.
Then we heard that they were considering changing their prices and shipping policy, beginning in 2012. So we searched our budget and managed to place an order for six supers (enough, I thought, to get a good idea of their product quality). They arrived by FedEx in about three days. Most impressive - they were cut, with our custom requirements, exactly as requested (no problems trying to straighten out order shortcomings).
The end boards were nearly "select" quality, and the side pieces, even though some of them had a few tight knots (I pre-coat all knots with TiteBond III, inside and out), were straight and true. All box joints fit together very snugly (I assemble using bar clamps, with TiteBond III and coated deck screws). The box joint fingers were each drilled with pilot holes for fasteners - very precisely positioned, each and every one.
After checking the updated BeeBabys.com, the prices are a little more than they were, pre-2012, but they still seem quite attractive, especially since I have an idea as to the quality of their product. I am hoping my revised budget will permit taking advantage of one of the volume price breaks, when I am able to place my next order.
So my wife Diane and I made some inquiries:
We wanted to know if they could make a few customizations to our order, in particular we wanted our 8-frame supers to be cut 14 inches wide (creating 12-1/2" inside width), and without any handholds (we prefer our own end cleats). They readily agreed to our specs, and without any additional cost to us.
Then we heard that they were considering changing their prices and shipping policy, beginning in 2012. So we searched our budget and managed to place an order for six supers (enough, I thought, to get a good idea of their product quality). They arrived by FedEx in about three days. Most impressive - they were cut, with our custom requirements, exactly as requested (no problems trying to straighten out order shortcomings).
The end boards were nearly "select" quality, and the side pieces, even though some of them had a few tight knots (I pre-coat all knots with TiteBond III, inside and out), were straight and true. All box joints fit together very snugly (I assemble using bar clamps, with TiteBond III and coated deck screws). The box joint fingers were each drilled with pilot holes for fasteners - very precisely positioned, each and every one.
After checking the updated BeeBabys.com, the prices are a little more than they were, pre-2012, but they still seem quite attractive, especially since I have an idea as to the quality of their product. I am hoping my revised budget will permit taking advantage of one of the volume price breaks, when I am able to place my next order.