Building Hives

[Samaria Honey]

Have done some math on wood ware #2 grade 10'x 8"x1 and 10'x12"x1 the brood wood for 2 brood boxes 2 small supers bottom board inner cover top cover with metal and bottom board with screen all for $30 per hive

[crofter]

Check the actual planed width of the nominal 1 X 10 stock. I believe it is too narrow to make deep hive bodies.

[cg3]

Yeah. Most 1x10s are 9 1/4".

[Samaria Honey]

Sorry 12" wide come's up to about $8.40 a box

[psfred]

If you cut down 1x10s for shallows, you can use the left over to make bases and covers. A sheet of 3/8" CDX works well for the rest of the covers, and you could use it for a standard baseboard too if you want. I use screens at the moment, might change.

Deeps have to come from 1x12s unless you are willing to glue boards together. This isn't a big deal if you use Titebond III and don't care if you can see the joint. It's going to be painted on the outside anyway, a slight off-set won't matter.

Good thing is that while expensive to start with, the woodenware should last decades if kept painted and in use -- frames warp badly if left outside in the weather.

I strongly recommend metal on covers of any type. Aluminum flashing is cheap and easy to bend, and the metal will result in a cover that lasts essentially forever. You can also add a fairly thick layer of newspaper underneath, and that adds insulation in a good place.

Once I get the yard under control (i.e. when it freezes) I have some projects to work on in the garage -- boxes for two or three more hives, a Dadant Deep (or whatever size I end up with using 1x12s) and a huge pile of frames.

At least this is an excuse to use all that woodworking equipment I have lying about!

Peter

[Samaria Honey]

Totally agree you just made me think about using my biscut jointer

[crofter]

psfred;

I am toyin with the idea of a super deep of some description too. Thought of using two stacked medium boxes so I dont have to create any bastard boxes or use wide stock. I will be making custom length endbars to suit standard top and bottom bars. Seems like that would make endbars ~12 3/4 tall.

Just meditating on it!

[minz]

I am with you guys on the inside dimensions. I was just running stock through my planer and called it good enough at just under an inch. I figured removing the planer skiffs was not worth the wear and tear on the equipment. I just added a ¼” to the outside dimension and hope the bees will forgive me for the stack of hives not being exactly flush. Built about a hundred frames last year and a bunch of boxes. Nothing is perfect (or exactly square) but I did not get any major brace comb in any of them.
I just changed direction and started gluing up my wood to a set of cider press plans. You should have seen the kids faces when I told them to stack all of the bee gear in the corner because we were ‘switching gears’

[Michael Palmer]

Sorry 12" wide come's up to about $8.40 a box

You're spending too much on the lumber. No saw mills in Kentucky?

[Fishman43]

You're spending too much on the lumber. No saw mills in Kentucky?

MP, I have priced 1x8 stock (i run mediums) everywhere I can find it here in the seacoast area. For kiln dried finished (not rough cut) stock it costs me roughly $6 per box. Granted I could buy rough cut wet stock for almost 1/3 the price but as of now I don't have a thickness planer and wet wood takes forever to dry with other issue cropping up. Do you have any tips/tricks for building cheaper boxes?

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Fisherman, MP, Samoria Honey, others, ....The best way to build cheaper boxes is get the wood for free. Several years ago I got in with 4 or 5 roofers, and they save me their 1 X 12 cutoffs. (Boards are anywhere from 12 inches long, enough for a nuc, up to about 3 + feet, enough for a length or possibly front and length). 1 X 12 is used for roof sheeting. Unfortunately roofers are going away from 1 X 12, and there is not as much available as before, but it is still available. I get lots of it every year. Give them a jar or two honey occasionally and they will save for you. For my own boxes, (those I don't sell), I use 1 X 4, 1 X 6, 1 X 10, and glue with titebond lll to make my deeps and nucs. (After painting you will not see the difference from the outside.)

Also keep an eye out for buildings, schools, etc that are closing. They quite often have large quantities of 1 X 12 shelving in them that will be torn out and thrown away. Don't be bashful about asking the Realty Company or the Contractor what they are going to do with the shelving in the building.

A few good contractors are the beekeepers best friend when it comes to free wood. Most of them just throw away or burn their cutoffs and what they tear out. But, for a little honey, they will save the pieces for you.

As for a thickness planer, keep an eye out on Craigs list for a simple bench top, planer. You can pick up a Delta 22-540 or 22-560 for less than $150.00. New blades are $25 to $30.00. A Ryobi will be even less, DeWalt a little more, but, if you are only going to build a few boxes each year, they will do great. Cut your boards to length before planing and you don't place as much strain on these benchtop planers. Find a sawmill in your area, and give them a jar or two honey and have them save you short boards, boards with soft spots etc that they can't sell. They throw them away or sell as slabs, but I have good luck having them save them for me. If a 10 foot board has a bad spot in the middle, it will still make a box from the two ends. Sawmills don't normally fool with anything that is less than 8ft long. If you get wet wood, strip and stack, and let set for a year and it will cure.

Free is the way to go to cut down on lumber cost, but, lots of saw mills in Kentucky. Many of them Amish or Mennonite mills, and I have found them very easy to deal with.

cchoganjr

[Fishman43]

Good tips Cleo. I don't think the roofers in my area use the 1x12's for sheathing with snow loads what they are it is heavy duty plywood for us. I will still keep an eye out for scrap (have had posts on Freecycle with no luck for while). I most definitely will ask the mills for shorter stock. I don't have much more room for stacking and curing wood without raising hackles of my other half.