Bees are remarkably tolerant of all sorts of mistakes. You might get some unwanted comb in places you'd rather not if you don't follow bee space, but short of making the supers too short for the frames you are unlikely to kill the bees. (Bee Culture had an article a while back on woodenware and dimensions - the upshot is "Know where your bee space allowance is"). I've built Hive bodies, lids, boards, inner covers, even cranked out a set of frames, and if I can do it, you can. Just be patient and learn to scavenge wood. :) BTW - I've found it isn't cost effective to make frames. Time + materials means frames are cheaper for me if I buy them. I have made top bars for foundationless frames and just used pre-cut end bars (which take most of my time to make). Hive bodies can be a close thing as well. It is really rewarding to build these things though. At least give building the bottom board a try. Once you succeed in nailing some 1x2s onto a piece of plywood you can move up to a migratory cover, and so on. Every little bit counts.