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Author Topic: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes  (Read 2967 times)

Offline The15thMember

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Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« on: July 23, 2018, 09:45:22 pm »
So I want to make some moisture quilts for my hives for this winter and have the ability to feed solid sugar if need be, and I can't seem to find any 8 frame ekes, also called spacer rims, feeder rims, mountain camp feeders/rims, baggie feeders, and any number of similar names.  You know, just a little super approximately 2-3 inches deep, just to provide space for feeding or whatever.  Nowhere locally has them, and I have to pay a crazy amount of shipping from Kelley or Dadant.  I wish I had access to a table saw (or someone with woodworking talent), because then I could just cut up a medium or shallow, but I don't.  My only recourse therefore is to jury-rig something (I'm not sure if that word is an Americanism, it means "assembling something with whatever you can find").  My two potentially crazy ideas are as follows. 

Idea #1:
I have a Brushy Mt. dealer near me, and I could probably get Ross Round supers there.  If I'm correct, those are normally around 4.5 in. deep.  A little more than I need, but I could use the super in the summer for actually making Ross Round cut comb, which I've been thinking about doing anyway.  The only thing is, for the one's I'd like to make moisture quilts out of, I'd have to drill ventilation holes in them.  Would having holes drilled in them be a problem if I was actually using them for their intended purpose?  The holes would be covered with hardware cloth, of course.   

Idea #2:
This seems weirder, but I guess it could work.  What if I took 3 Imrie shims and glued them together to essentially make a 3 in. shim?  They'd have ventilation holes already, though I may have to drill more, and I'm not sure how drilling through something glued together like that would go.

I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO woodworking experience, so I could be totally crazy here, but what do you guys think?         
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2018, 09:49:51 pm »
Also, right after I posted this, I realized this thread maybe belongs under the equipment usage forum, so if a moderator wants to do something about that, feel free.  :embarassed:
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Offline iddee

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2018, 10:38:20 pm »
Maybe something like this?

https://beezneedz.com/product-category/quilt-board/

They also have the 2 inch shims.
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Offline Dabbler

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2018, 08:00:24 am »
Why not take an extra super, screw some strips of wood to the inside so the top of the strips will be about 2-3 inches up from the bottom. This gives you a ledge to staple on some screening that supports your quilt material. The 2-3 inch space makes room for your sugar cakes.

Either drill some holes in the side of the box (with screening over them) or just use some popsicle sized sticks at the top edge to  provide ventilation.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2018, 01:28:14 pm »
Maybe something like this?

https://beezneedz.com/product-category/quilt-board/

They also have the 2 inch shims.
Yeah, that's the sort of thing I'm looking to make.  Beezneedz shipping is better, but I'd still like to get something locally if possible and pay no shipping.  I'll remember to keep them in mind in the future though, because they definitely have cheaper shipping. 

Why not take an extra super, screw some strips of wood to the inside so the top of the strips will be about 2-3 inches up from the bottom. This gives you a ledge to staple on some screening that supports your quilt material. The 2-3 inch space makes room for your sugar cakes.

Either drill some holes in the side of the box (with screening over them) or just use some popsicle sized sticks at the top edge to  provide ventilation.
Hey, that is a great idea!  See, this is my problem, I can't see the simpler solution.  That's perfect, I can just get 2 shallows, 1 for each hive, and essentially have the top half be the quilt box and the bottom half be the feeder rim, just 1 piece of equipment for each hive instead of 2.  That's exactly the kind of idea I was looking for, thank you so much Dabbler!  :happy:
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Offline paus

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2018, 09:09:27 pm »
I make my screened top about 1.5" deep with #8 screen on bottom.  The screen allows some ventilation as it is not air tight around the edges.  I add more vents by taking the top and gently let it down on the table saw making about a 7" long by saw kerf wide slot, in the side .  In winter I use about any old cloth and put about 1.5" of shavings and/or sawdust in the top. In the spring just throw the sawdust away and you can leave the cloth folded or spread out depending on needed ventilation.

Offline jalentour

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2018, 11:56:29 pm »
15,
I have a pretty nice wood shop but my solution was to go to Lowes and purchase the 3"x8' cedar strips.  I simply cut to size and screwed together.  This may be done inexpensively with a hand saw and a screwdriver.  I use them on nucs, 8 frame, 10 frame, anything. 
I like to get them on the hives a little early so the bees have time to seal up the joints. 
Cedar wood lasts a little longer but you can use pine or anything you want to pay for.
In the future I would consider using hardy board or 3/4" plywood.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2018, 01:01:38 pm »
I make my screened top about 1.5" deep with #8 screen on bottom.  The screen allows some ventilation as it is not air tight around the edges.  I add more vents by taking the top and gently let it down on the table saw making about a 7" long by saw kerf wide slot, in the side.  In winter I use about any old cloth and put about 1.5" of shavings and/or sawdust in the top. In the spring just throw the sawdust away and you can leave the cloth folded or spread out depending on needed ventilation.
That sounds really similar to what I'm planning on doing.  I'm using the guidelines from Rusty Burlew's website, HoneyBeeSuite.  I absolutely love her blog.

15,
I have a pretty nice wood shop but my solution was to go to Lowes and purchase the 3"x8' cedar strips.  I simply cut to size and screwed together.  This may be done inexpensively with a hand saw and a screwdriver.  I use them on nucs, 8 frame, 10 frame, anything. 
I like to get them on the hives a little early so the bees have time to seal up the joints. 
Cedar wood lasts a little longer but you can use pine or anything you want to pay for.
In the future I would consider using hardy board or 3/4" plywood.

Thanks for the advice, jvalentour.  I really may try doing something like that in the future, but for now I'm just not confident enough in my (lack of) carpentry skill to build something from scratch.  That probably sounds crazy and really lame, since it's just putting together a box (lol), but at this point the extra price for something pre-fabricated is worth it to me compared to the hassle of trying to build it.

I'm really liking Dabbler's idea, that seems like a good solution for me.  I'm hauling out to the bee store today (the only place near me that sells 8 frame equipment, or any equipment in quantity for that matter, is over an hour away), so I think I'll grab some shallows and go with making a combo feeder/moisture quilt from them.  Thanks to everyone for all the advice, I really really appreciate it.         
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline ed/La.

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Re: Ideas for Jury-rigging Ekes
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2018, 05:49:43 pm »
While I did not read the whole thread here is my comment. Work on your woodworking skills. If you get the basics down it would be invaluable as beekeeper. You do not have to dovetail corners and it doesn't need to be perfect. It is a fun rewarding hobby that goes well with beekeeping

 

anything