Super construction

[GT]

Dumb question I hope - just completed assembling and painting 2 new hives - each having 2 deep, 2 medium supers. A few of them are not exactly straight. I either assembled them bleep-eyed (doubtful) or they were milled by Mann Lake wrong. 1 or 2 have a slight gap when resting on a super below it. they wobble like a wobbly table at a restaurant. I bought Mann Lakes commercial grade (mid grade). Heres the question, do I worry about the gap (really slight, less than 1/4 inch)? If so whats my solution - planing, sanding, stuffing something in the gap, or just leave it aaone. Is it an invitation for robbers, ants, etc?
Thanks

[Finsky]

Give water to box so it swells. Then put it on very even bottom and put 50 lbs weight on the box. When it dryes it will settle in it's form

Later hive is moist and frames are heavy. Load presses wood into form.

[Jack Parr]

Once you have your boxes straight a la Finsky method, use a square ( commonly called a rafter square ) and, well, square your boxes.

After they are perfectly square make youself a " jig " using a suitable piece of plywood larger than the supers, with the super placed on the ply, glue and/or nail/wood screw some strips of wood around the outside perimeter, snugly, of said super.

There you have a perfectly square " jig/form " for future box construction.
You can also screw some strips inside the box and voila you have a jig/form that will keep the walls of your supers upright, straight and square.

Now once all the woodworking is done, take the form/jig, declare IT a piece of art, hang it on the living room wall and now it's doing double duty.  

This is one occasion where YOU want to " A SQUARE " :P

[Michael Bush]

I just square them and use them.  If they are wobbly throw a couple of concrete blocks on top of the hive, or more rocks.  After the bees have glued it the propolis will hold it straight.  If you can't get it to not be wobbly with a couple of concrete blocks on it, then you need to do something different.  Try putting a two by coner to corner on the low corner and standing on the other two.

[Finsky]

After they are perfectly square make youself a " jig " using a suitable piece of plywood larger than the supers, with the super placed on the ply, glue and/or nail/wood screw some strips of wood around the outside perimeter, snugly, of said super.

This is good advice and necessary.  Old table is good place to work.

Same thing when you collect bottoms, inner covers, ...

And you perhaps know cross measure: both diagonals are exactly same lenght from corner to corner.

[GT]

MB -

Do you ever just plane the excess down using a block plane? Not really sure what a home made jig will do for me to solve the wobble.

[GT]

ora re you suggesting that I screw in plywood to the super and keep it there???

[Finsky]

ora re you suggesting that I screw in plywood to the super and keep it there???

No that. You wet the wood box so it swells abit. Then you put  heavy weight on and when wood dryes it seeks new position.

If your box is in right angle it need not jig. It needs just even base where it dryes up.

When box is in the hive, the gap will disapear when heavy honey presses it even.

[TwT]

Gt, Just put them together with the bottom flat, after you got that all bottoms are flat you can rack the box square, use a framing square to check and just turn on the side or a corner and push, you can square it easy , biggest problem would be not having the bottom flat......

[GT]

Finsky - thanks for the advice.

Ted - sounds like youre saying to put it on its side and push..that might work

[Michael Bush]

I plane them down if an edge of one board sticks up more than another.  But what you're describing sounds more like the box is out of square in some direction or the other.  Usually they can be sprung back into square with a little force in the right direction.