IMO the only way to come out ahead building your own equipment is if you have a source of free scrap lumber or at a minimum, a source of cheap LOCAL lumber from a local sawmill.
50 hives at $47.00 each. 40 frames for those hives at $10.80 That is with reversible inner covers and metal for the tele covers. = $57.80 each x 50 = $2890.00
PLUS, electricity, saw blades, glue, staples etc....
VS;
Mann Lake HK-340 ten frame 6 5/8 hive with wooden frames = 269.95 each x 50 = 13497.50
ThirTEEN THOUSAND... cough...
thirteen.. thousand... five hundred..... dollars..............
13497.50 - $2890.00 = a savings of $10,607.50...
I am quite content that I came out ahead on the 50+ hives I built, and am currently pretending to control....
Wood from Menards, there is no such thing as a local lumber yard within 30 miles of my home. The last one closed three years ago.