Does anyone make their own equipment from scrap timber?

[Culley]

Does anyone here make boxes from scrap wood? Is it worth the trouble? I'd love to see photos.

I made a 5 frame deep nuc box from decking boards. I made quite a few mistakes. The next one might be better.  :roll: I mainly made this to see how hard it was to do. Not hard at all.  :) I got given one that someone else had made and I pretty much copied the design, making some improvements. It didn't take too long, especially considering I did all the cutting with a hand saw.

[jayj200]

cool
bees don't care

[Michael Bush]

> Is it worth the trouble?

It depends on how much time you have, how much money you have, how much access you have to scrap lumber, and what your time is worth.  I used to make most of my equipment from scrap lumber when I was a carpenter...

[craneman54]

Yes I am almost finished building enough boxes for 4 complete hives with SBB, inner covers and telescoping lids. Still have to sand and paint.(I know Bees don't care and the sanding but I do. ;)) Beside I am retired and have the time and enough free wood to build probably 8 or nine more hives if I need to.

[BlueBee]

FWIW, it might not be a bad idea to wear a mask when working with old scrap wood.  Could have been painted with lead, preserved with arsenic, and covered with mold spores.  That said, I do try to re-purpose any old wood I find.  I generally make most of my bee stuff out of polystyrene though; some of which I also re-purpose.

[BeeMaster2]

Yes, I have and still have hives in my apiary that are doing just fine after 5 years. What I would not recommend using is plywood. I have had to rebuild almost every SBB that had plywood, usually the landing board.
Jim

[BlueBee]

OSB doesn't last long exposed to the weather either.  But at least it doesn't tend to warp like plywood. 

I was short boxes and made some nucs out of OSB a few years ago.  They're still in one piece, but the OSB balloons up like sponge over time.

[Michael Bush]

>OSB balloons up like sponge over time.

and particle board is even worse...

[OldMech]

    I have plywood tele covers, some with metal, some without..  Plywood inner covers, and plywood bottom boards..  Some of the early ones I built warped, so I learned to build them better. Havent had any trouble since..
   Some folks say its not worth the effort to make your own stuff.. I think it is, if you have the time..  JUST for the pride of knowing YOU built that hive those bees are living in..  It gives you a sense of pride, and accomplishment..  You will NEVER hear your bees complain about how good your carpentry skill is.

  ONE tip about using salvaged wood..  Often, older boards are thicker than 3/4 inch.. if you use those to make your boxes, the tele cover will not fit, so always build your tele covers 1/4 inch wider and 1/4 inch longer than commercial covers.
   How I do it..  http://outyard.weebly.com/bee-hive.html
   I will be updating a LOT now that its getting COLD outside!  Keep checking back!

[BlueBee]

Nice site there old mech.  So how do you keep plywood from warping? 

I like the idea of using a router for the hand holds.  I just use cleats for my wood supers, but I’m lazy and don’t care too much about the looks; your boxes look nicer.  I love the hive end tables with glass tops and lights too.  What a creative idea.

[ScituateMA]

I have built some nuc boxes out of pellets. Free and they serve what me and my bees need

[OldMech]

Nice site there old mech.  So how do you keep plywood from warping? 

I like the idea of using a router for the hand holds.  I just use cleats for my wood supers, but I’m lazy and don’t care too much about the looks; your boxes look nicer.  I love the hive end tables with glass tops and lights too.  What a creative idea.

    I would probably use cleats Blue, but they make it more difficult to wrap the hives.. as far as the plywood not warping.   I use 1.5 x 3/4 boards all around the bottom edge on the bottom boards glued and nailed well, and then paint them well...

   

   Along with the 3/4 by 3/4 boards that the boxes set on they dont warp.. Before I started putting that front 1.5 by 3/4 board on the front edge of the plywood sagged allowing bees to come and go UNDER the reducers..  the extra board fixed that..  At just over 3 dollars each I can replace them as needed..  so long as the hive is tilted forward slightly they hold up very well!
    Tele covers... 2" boards around the edges and three coats of paint, and none of them are warping either.. The ones with metal dont seem to be holding up better than the tele covers without.. I am thinking its because moisture gets trapped up under the metal?   Whatever the case may be..  it costs me less than 3 dollars to make a lid without metal.
 

[capt44]

When making hives from rough cut lumber I use a planner to cut the boards down to the correct 3/4 inch thickness.
I've made a lot of hives from rough cut sawmill lumber.

[Eric Bosworth]

I use rough cut for everything. I don't have a thickness planner but even if I did that would be shaving 1/4 inch of insulation for the winter.

[lomatia]

I make nucs from old hardwood fence palings. Usually can get enough lengths for the sides from in between the nail holes. Do the ends using wider, thicker palings.

This wood is very dry and doesn't warp but the nucs are heavier than pine ones which is a slight downside.

Cleats and handles made from treated pine spacers that come with treated pine sleepers.

Lids are three ply which I paint thoroughly especially on the edges. (They need a weight to keep them flat)

[N4NV]

I have made several hive boxes and hive tops from scrap lumber found at construction sites.  I edge glue boards together and then run it through a planer.  I also make most of my frames from the same scrap lumber using a table saw and router.  This site wont let me post pictures yet, but if you go to YouTube and search for "Vincent Endter" you can see some of my custom hive tops and boxes I have made.

Vince

[capt44]

I also glue scrap lumber together and plane it down and use it for my own hive construction.
I build a lot of hives for the public and they shy away from glued lumber.
But for my own use I will take scrap pieces and glue them and plane them to smooth them out.
I have found when you build a lot of hives (Boxes especially) you wind up with a lot of pieces that aren't the right size so it's glue and clamp time.
With the price of lumber these days it pays to glue and plane

[OldMech]

I also glue scrap lumber together and plane it down and use it for my own hive construction.
I build a lot of hives for the public and they shy away from glued lumber.
But for my own use I will take scrap pieces and glue them and plane them to smooth them out.
I have found when you build a lot of hives (Boxes especially) you wind up with a lot of pieces that aren't the right size so it's glue and clamp time.
With the price of lumber these days it pays to glue and plane

 :th_thumbsupup:

[rookie2531]

Hecks yeah, building it yourself is fun and if you already have the right tools and you don't build it. Well that is like having a car and calling for a cab.

[lomatia]

I make quite a few boxes etc from scrap. Found nail gun attachment is not enough so have started using Titebond 3 which is now available in Oz.

These are some swarm traps that I knocked up. (Unsuccessful this season but here's hoping!!)