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Author Topic: Butt joints and corner blocks  (Read 2868 times)

Offline Acebird

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Butt joints and corner blocks
« on: January 26, 2011, 03:56:39 pm »
http://s697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/Hive%20Bodies/

I finally got the hive bodies done.  There are plenty of pics there that will show the details of what I did.  I also made a half-medium spacer that can be used on the top of the upper cover for feeding / winter insulation or used in conjunction with a medium super for using a deep frame.




Brian Cardinal
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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2011, 04:01:38 pm »
Nice Job AceBird!!!

Thanks for sharing.

I can’t figure out exactly how you have your bodies assembled thought?  What are those corner pieces?

Looks great.

Offline AllenF

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2011, 04:17:04 pm »
Corner blocks.   So that no end grain wood is exposed to the elements. 

Good looking boxes.

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2011, 04:26:47 pm »
Thanks Allen, that one is new to me.  Sounds like a pretty good idea.

AceBird, what’s your plans for handholds?

Offline Acebird

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2011, 04:37:31 pm »
Quote
AceBird, what’s your plans for handholds?

If I need them I will just screw some handles on two sides but as yet I have never picked up a hive body full of honey.  We remove the frames in the evening let the bees go back in the hive at night and then put the frames into the refridgerator so we can extract them all at once.
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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2011, 12:55:00 am »
AceBird,

What thickness of wood did you use?  That looks thicker than ¾”.  Is it pine?  I don’t see many knots.

Offline rdy-b

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2011, 01:27:07 am »
  did you allow for 3/16 beespace top and bottom of frames for the 3/8 bee space required-or
did you take a different approach-they look very fine--RDY-B

Offline tim adams

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2011, 08:49:52 am »
AceBird
   Wow! They are really nice, I've never seen anyone do it that way. Good job!
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2011, 10:27:31 am »
  did you allow for 3/16 beespace top and bottom of frames for the 3/8 bee space required-or
did you take a different approach-they look very fine--RDY-B

The inside dimensions are exactly the same as the BetterBee medium bodies.  I think I have a photo (see link) of my version on top of the BetterBee box to show that relationship.

BlueBee, I got scraps of ¾ tongue and groove pine and ¼ pine plywood paneling from a person on craigslist.  Because I got it free I laminated the ¼ paneling to the ¾ pine so it is 1 inch thick total.  I decided to make the corner blocks 1 1/8 square just because.  He, he, actually there were some dimensional variations and warpage in the ¾ boards so making the corner blocks 1/8 oversize hides some imperfections.  That is an old carpenter trick.  If you can’t make it perfect don’t.

I predrilled the holes in the corner blocks ½ in from the inside edge but if I were to do it again I would just put them in the center at 9/16.

If I didn’t have the ¼ ply and only had ¾ stock I would glue a piece 1 ¾ wide cross grain on the end of each side-board.  Then make the corner blocks 1 ½ square.  That would make your butt joints 1 ½  which will stiffen things up quite a bit.  I wouldn’t try this technique on just a ¾ in butt joint unless you don’t move your boxes around.

BTW if you didn’t see it in the pictures I put a bead of caulk on every butt joint to fill in the imperfections and then scraped off the excess that squeezed out.  Once that dries the joint will be solid.  You have time to square things up a bit before that happens.
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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2011, 02:27:46 pm »
Hey AceBird,

What kind of primer did you use on your new hive bodies? 

I’m also curious about how many coats of paint you ended up putting on?  Latex I assume? 

I sure hate painting hives.  I have to do it by hand since I don’t have an air sprayer.  It takes me forever and ever.  Yours look great.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Butt joints and corner blocks
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2011, 03:10:39 pm »
It was all Bear paint (home depot) exterior latex, one primer, two finish (flat).  In the pictures there is only one coat of finish.  I put the second coat on when they were all stacked up so the top edges got a second coat only for the half mediums.  I was just puttering around and did it all by hand.

I have two commercial sprayers.  One is good for doing interior rooms but the other gas driven baby will pump 3 gal. a minute.  If some of you commercial beeks need a few hundred hives done in a hurry I could give you a quote.  You would have to do your own shipping in order to make it cost effective unless you live nearby.
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anything