There is no way that you can buy and operate even a " cheap " planer for less then buying standard sized hive lumber. For a few hive boxes
Jack,
Thanks for the thoughts! Yes I’m a Tool Guy for sure and have been
building stuff since I was able to swing a hammer to drive a straight nail.
My needs are modest (clearly not on a commercial scale by any means)
but my purchase ($300) will pay for it self after the cutting of only thirty
eight medium supers. I can have all I need for personal use and trade or
sell some cut boxes to help pay for other stuff I might need.
The machine uses three easy to change double-sided disposable blades
that are available on the net for under $50 including shipping.
I obviously don’t know yet how many board feet the blades will surface
before needing replacement, but 38 boxes comes to approx. 230 board
feet. My guess is that if I don’t load up the planer with “dirty†lumber,
I should get 230 board feet (115 feet per side) planed with each set.
The free lumber in question is new house building lumber that is too
short for carpenters to do anything with, so it just gets hauled off and
thrown away, plus after ripping down a 2 X 8 board, there is something
left over to make other hive related parts as well. It’s too late to save
my money as you suggested, but perhaps by the end of the this year
I’ll make out in the long run.[/quote]