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Author Topic: beehive wood?  (Read 22918 times)

Offline beee farmer

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2010, 12:31:34 am »
You got all that Osage Orange in every fence row from Nixa to Boliver... just need a saw tough enough to cut the darned stuff!  LOL
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Offline MacfromNS

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #21 on: November 14, 2010, 08:37:04 pm »
No one said anything about spruce, we use that for everthing.
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Offline Dracono

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #22 on: November 14, 2010, 10:45:11 pm »
okay well next to free what would be the most cost effective? as for I am wanting to build lots of hives as well as maybe starting a hive building business, and selling hives and foundationless frames.

Thanks,
Dracono
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Offline Tommyt

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #23 on: November 14, 2010, 10:56:44 pm »
Local Saw Mill and see whats most ready Available,
Ask If he'll work with you on Cutting width and thickness,
Check Craigslist for wood daily.

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Offline David McLeod

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #24 on: November 15, 2010, 08:54:01 am »
What Tommyt said. Look for small local mills and see if any mills mills near you have occasional over runs of "extra" wood. You are also close to the cypress belt and may find a small cypress mill south of you in Arkansas. Your costs will be lower if you can do your own pick up and delivery and be willing to take lots rather than picking up a few boards at a time.
Good luck, I'm looking to do something very similar myself though not so much a business of selling boxes and frames.
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Offline hankdog1

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #25 on: November 15, 2010, 11:09:34 pm »
Hemlock makes some dandy hive bodies.  It's easy to work light and weathers really well.  As for the american chestnut you guys are talking about my mantle is made out of that stuff no worms or anything.  Don't think you could afford hives made out of that stuff.
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Offline Bee-Bop

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #26 on: November 15, 2010, 11:34:59 pm »
I actually have one made from aluminum.  It was in a former beekeeper's small outyard for several years, and was the one of his most active hives.  He died, then the bees died, and I ended up with it.  I'm going to give it a try next year and see what happens.  Maybe he was on to something... no paint, no rot...hmmm?


Ok, now tell me it has aluminum frames, they used to have them you know !

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Offline David McLeod

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #27 on: November 16, 2010, 12:01:07 am »
As for the american chestnut you guys are talking about my mantle is made out of that stuff no worms or anything.  Don't think you could afford hives made out of that stuff.

The loss of the chestnut is one of the saddest chapters in american forestry. Your right what's left in lumber form is relegated to hobbiest craft makers in small form for the most part as it is all salvage wood at this point. My comment was merely to mention the rot resistant woods I am aware of both the locust and mulberry, while quite rot resistant, would be extremely difficult to find in sizes large enough for even a section super.
Personally I think a teak hive would be pretty cool if costs were of no object. I love the way it weathers to a soft grey color.
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Offline bud1

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #28 on: November 16, 2010, 06:21:32 am »
as mike says ossage orange(bodock) as we call it in the south is the most durable; it will wear out 2-3 post holes, but that is the only thing it is good for other than the people that take a coupla years to make a bow out of it. other than that cypres will out last the nails.
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Online Michael Bush

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #29 on: November 16, 2010, 08:19:53 am »
>ossage orange(bodock)

Actually it's Bois D'Arc which is pronounced the same... but it's French for "wood of the bow".
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Offline nella

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #30 on: November 16, 2010, 10:02:32 am »
I use catapla wood(harvested from my woods) to make my hives. It is rot resistant, light in weight, strong, easy to work and rabbit the corners which eliminates 1-1/2 of the end grain exposure to stop water wicking in the end grain. When I glue and staple the corners I coat the exposed end grain with the water proof glue to seal it.

Offline lenape13

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #31 on: November 16, 2010, 10:59:39 am »
I actually have one made from aluminum.  It was in a former beekeeper's small outyard for several years, and was the one of his most active hives.  He died, then the bees died, and I ended up with it.  I'm going to give it a try next year and see what happens.  Maybe he was on to something... no paint, no rot...hmmm?


Ok, now tell me it has aluminum frames, they used to have them you know !

Bee-Bop

No, I just have the one aluminum hive body.  He had it on a wooden bottom board with a wooden hive body on top.  It was a very active hive.  I mow the yard it sat in and watched them come and go.  He had two other standard hives but they didn't do nearly as well.  After he died, there was no one to tend the girls and they eventually died.  Shortly thereafter, the landowner got permission from the beekeeper's family to dispose of the hives, and I got the job of removing everything.  (It just happened to be the same year I was getting started in beekeeping.)  That hive was fully packed with dead bees, their little heads down in the cells.  They died of starvation.  Had I known then, I could have probably saved them.  I plan to put it into use this year and see what happens.

Offline David McLeod

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #32 on: November 16, 2010, 05:19:41 pm »
Correction on the chestnut. There is enough out there still to make boxes. I looked at some this afternoon and almost pulled the trigger but at 7.00bf decided I really didn't need to build an old fashioned bee gum. Seriously, when I spotted that stuff I could just see an old school gum sitting in the yard.
The reclaimed heart pine was a better deal at 6.00bf but still a no go. What I went to see was the best yet, select cypress 2.95bf. Still not scrap or salvage prices but for my tastes it will do.
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Offline hardwood

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #33 on: November 16, 2010, 06:39:34 pm »
I buy eastern white pine for .93 /bm

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Offline bud1

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #34 on: November 16, 2010, 06:49:17 pm »
mical, didnt i say in the SOUTH. I am pretty sure I said in the south. I never heard the fancy name until my mother told me how to spell it mical around fifty years ago.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2010, 07:08:27 pm by bud1 »
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Offline Dracono

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #35 on: November 16, 2010, 11:47:09 pm »
Why thank you all for your opinion's it means a lot to me.

Now the next question is where do I get the jigs to cut my hive body's with the dove tail cuts?
I would like one of each deep, medium, shallows?

and how much do they cost?
Thanks,
Dracono
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Offline David McLeod

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #36 on: November 17, 2010, 09:09:25 am »


I am sure you can purchase a jig for making a box joint from almost any wood working supply house. Question, how are you going to make the cuts, router or table saw? With a router I know there are jigs available for all sorts of dovetails and box joints on the table saw most wood workers make their own jig for use with a dado blade. Do a google search and I am sure you can find all sorts of plans including some on this site.
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Offline Tommyt

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Offline Bee Happy

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #38 on: November 17, 2010, 11:42:41 am »
You have ironwood in Tucson, I'm not seriously suggesting making a beehive out of it, but if you did it would be almost bulletproof.  I don't think the bees are all that worried about being shot at though. And there's all the high carbon woodworking equipment in smoking heaps trying to work the wood.
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Offline David McLeod

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Re: beehive wood?
« Reply #39 on: November 17, 2010, 06:01:48 pm »
If your going to be making your frames as well the main consideration would be how well it machines or mills as opposed to rot resistance (if your frames are rotting inside the box you have far more serious issues). I would recommend poplar (tulip poplar not cottonwood/aspen) due the extreme ease of milling and a good moderate strength without being brittle or having grain tearout. Any of your softwood pine or spf ( western or canadian spuce/pine/fir) should suffice though you can find both pitch pockets and some tear out in some of that. Eastern White pine is commonly used but can be brittle. Avoid new growth syp (southern yellow pine) new growth (as opposed to old growth or heart pine) will move excessively on you warping and twisting. If you go with cypress for the boxes and happen to have any drop or cut off pieces go ahead an use them as cypress mills well too, though I would not spend the extra for cypress frames. But if you want to go whole hog mahogany mills as good as anything I've ever come across plus has good strength.
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