Hive body assembly??

[HarryVanderpool]

Just wanted too make sure everybody saw this small senseless quote.

Oh No!!!!! What was I thinking?
Well, guess I'll never fit in now......

[HarryVanderpool]

Version 1.2 begins with two 2 x 12 clear boards laying 3.5" apart.
Then there are two 4 x 6 uprights nailed in place similar to where the 4 x 4s are in the picture.
They are sandwitched inbetween the 12s
Each upright is braced with a 4 x 4 that again is slid inbetween the 12s and nailed at an angle similar to the picture.
The ram and cams remain the same but with some sort of handle.
The idea is to produce as rigid of a press as possible. But not so heavy that you have to call Keith over to move it around with his Swinger 1k.

[Keith Jarrett]

Oh No!!!!! What was I thinking?
Well, guess I'll never fit in now......

There's plenty of room under the bus Harry.

[HarryVanderpool]

Another thing "they" used to tell me when I was getting started:
"The bees don't care what the boxes look like".
Well guess what? I do.
And so do my growers.
Our hives are rented all year long from February until September, and every year I get compliments for sharp, uniform equipment.
Dumpy, pethy, dry-rotted junk is not a good reflection on ones outfit.
While it probably makes no difference in pollination strength, my growers compliment my hive appearance almost every year.
That can't be bad.



Nothing like a little fire to cleanse one's soal from time to time.

[Charlie B]

Ollie? Are you listening to Harry?, Ollie, you there?

[BEES4U]

Just my $0.02
Here's another jig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQrVspB6b0w

[odfrank]

Ollie? Are you listening to Harry?, Ollie, you there?

I know, that burn pile picture brought tears to my eyes. I could have gotten twenty more years out of those boxes.

[Honey-4-All]

Like a lot of other issues in beekeeping when it comes to equipment the biggest factor is always the budget. After 20 years of borrowing a neighbors jig and having assembled over 5000 boxes on it we decide to splurge and get our own. If you are going to assemble a few boxes go cheap like on the previously recommended videos or jigs. Since I figured we would assemble another 20k boxes over the next twenty years I decided to splurge. We bought one of the ones sold by the guys in SD at
Hivebodies.com

See the item at http://www.hivebodies.com/fixture.html.

See the video at http://www.hivebodies.com/fixture%20video.html.


Our Box assembler loves the thing. The fixture as well as the stand could use a couple of refinements in order to enhance it ergonomically. An adjustable brake position at foot level ( as opposed to being welded in place) would make it nicer for a left or right foot dominate person. Brake also needs a better "grip" pad.

Over all I would give it a A-. Price wise its a little steep but when divided over 20,000 boxes its only a handful of pennies a box for increased speed and ease of build. would I buy another one? For sure.

The only thing I can say is that if you buy one don't copy the guy doing the demo in the video. If you pay close attention you will notice he staples 5 sides of the Box during the demo. Both sides at that. All the supers we put together have 4 sides.

[Ian]

I dont do thousands but this what I built.

Honeyman46408 thats crazy enough that it looks like it would work real fast
going to build one, right now!

can you show a few more pics,

[KevinR]

I built mine after a video on you tube. similar to the one that hivebodies.com sells for a grand. wonder how much they would really sell for.

[davidsbees]

IMG_0213.jpgDSC00001.jpgDSC00002.jpg
This assembly jig has seen thousands of supers over 15 years, between us and the dozens of beekeepers that have borrowed it. I currently have a air powered one.
David
beebotanical.com

[Ian]

IMG_0213.jpgDSC00001.jpgDSC00002.jpg
This assembly jig has seen thousands of supers over 15 years, between us and the dozens of beekeepers that have borrowed it. I currently have a air powered one.
David
beebotanical.com

boy, that looks like a good jig David, simple and looks like easy to use. Nice!
patent pending?

[jean-marc]

Honey-4-All:

Other than the five sided stapling I insist on making sure the air hose is connected to the air gun.

Jean-Marc

[davidsbees]

IMG_0694.jpgthis is my air powered super sqeez I have a regulator for the nailer and it has 3 legs so it won't rock. I think I need to paint before it starts to rust.

[Rader Sidetrack]

this is my air powered super sqeez ....

Looks Good!

And with just a different "head" attachment you can use it as a woodsplitter during the off season.

[minz]

Does this look familiar?
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n599/6minz/Jig2.jpg
I used quick grip clamps rather than the dowels. I plain my own wood so my thickness is not always as uniform (or as thin) as the store bought ones. I usually use two clamps for my press but my fingers are a little tight so I use 3 and sometimes hit them with a hammer. I shoot two or three screws into each corner from the top, flip it and do it again.

[Soapstone]

Now nail the two fingers in the middle on both sides of the top.
Unclamp, flip the box over, reclamp, nail the two middle fingers on both sides of that surface.

Harry,

Why do you not complete the nailing of the exposed joints while the box is in the jig rather than just driving the two nails in each side? It seems this would ensure that the box is not knocked out of square while finishing the nailing, as well as speeding up the process. I see no disadvantage to this unless the jig is not pressing the vertical pieces flat against the horizontal pieces at their joints. Your procedure seems to imply that the joints are only forced tight in the middle. If this is the case, couldn't the pressure plates be widened a little to keep the joints tight for their entire widths?

I use a technique similar to what you described for nailing the boxes after removal from the jig, rotating the box while driving the nails to keep the joint tight. It produces excellent results (at least with dovetailed boxes), but is a little time consuming. Without a jig I also have to test the box for squareness, and usually make adjustments. This whole process takes about five minutes per box. I am hoping that a jig such as yours would allow me to eliminate these time consuming steps.

I can see why you put the relief notches in the base to avoid glue buildup, but doesn't this also make nailing down on the vertical pieces less solid?

Thanks

[Ian]

I second Harry on the glue ! Use glue . . .

[Ian]

Harry,

Why do you not complete the nailing of the exposed joints while the box is in the jig rather than just driving the two nails in each side?

you can hand the box off to your helper to finish nailing as another box can get started
once that box is started square, it will stay square

[Mtn. Bee]

I am with odfrank, Harry's burn pile made me cry! I was getting ready to help by driving the bee truck to Harry's for some spring cleaning!
Harry what type of banding do you use around your hive boxes? Looks like that fiber/poly stuff tied in knots but can't tell in the pics?
I use glue and staples on my equipment as well!
And hopefully Keith don't throw you under that bus too hard and runs the other way!