Making Frames DIY

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idg

House Bee
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
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Location
Midlands
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
7
Does anyone on here make their own frames. I have been shelling out money on frames and foundation at an alarming rate recently, and I was wondering if there was an alternative. cheapest I can find for 10 national super frames is about £14 posted. Similar price for foundation. I appreciate they would be much cheaper in 50's during the winter sales.
Does anyone make them? and if so, do you wire them? use starter strips etc?
If you use starter strips do you wire the frame and buy non wired foundation?
Are there cheaper alternatives from abroad? Is it financially worth bothering
I am currently using SN1's and DN4's.
 
Yes simple DN1s wired with starter strips the frames approx 22mm and the 34mm spacing achieved by screws screwed into the side bars.
 
Are they jointed just butted together with nails/staples, or are they jointed like purchased ones. Do you find it is financially worth the extra work? Are they strong enough? Do you buy in strips of wood or rip it on a table saw etc?
 
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General consensus is that you would have to be crazy to try making your own hoffman frames. Hedgerow Pete wrote a very long and very entertaining post explaining this in great detail a while ago.

If you're a skilled woodworker with time on your hands and you have all the right equipment to hand, I can see how it might be economically feasible to make simple foundationless frames as described by Tom Bick, though.
 
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In Finland Hofman frame pieces are 50 euros/100 frame dose. Actually they are made in Estonia.
 
Are they jointed just butted together with nails/staples, or are they jointed like purchased ones. Do you find it is financially worth the extra work? Are they strong enough? Do you buy in strips of wood or rip it on a table saw etc?

They are jointed with the same top joint as bought frames but with one larger bottom rail than the two chop sticks. As they have starter strips there is no groove in the side bars and I have a shallow groove in the top bar as a guide to centralising the starter strip.
 
Mine are similar to Toms ... dead easy if you have a bandsaw ... straight sides, wider bottom bar but I use small nickel plated upholstery nails to give me the frame spacing .. I use a triangular piece of wood under the top bar (just nailed to it) coated with beeswax as a starter strip so no need for grooves. Brood frames are wired horizontally. Bees seem fine with them although they tend to chew off any rough bits that I leave ... saves finishing !!
 
Does anyone on here make their own frames.

Yes, make all our own frames, thousands of them, Hoffman, Dn1 & Sn1, mini nuc frames, plus cut down the trees, sawmill and kiln dry all the timber as well...and make and wire all the foundation for them, nice winter work.
 
these look great. do they work. I hate making frames and had just made up 20 super frames today. presumably you're just buying the plastic gizmos?????

Yes I just buy the plastic gizmos. I am using them on Lang supers and jumbo brood (which are like 14x12 but bigger).. and cut the frames from 9mm ply or MDF.. (I run foundationless).

Nothing has gone wrong so far.. and some jumbo frames with brood and honey are rather heavy..

Making is easy for me..who is a woodworking dunce.

For added security I glue the plastic ends to the frames - easily removed if you want to but added security when manipulating.
 
Been making frames for a while now using my saw bench and band saw, This year started using some of the timber from the Sycamore trees around our fields which I cut in the autumn and normally use for fire wood .
 
General consensus is that you would have to be crazy to try making your own hoffman frames. Hedgerow Pete wrote a very long and very entertaining post explaining this in great detail a while ago.

If you're a skilled woodworker with time on your hands and you have all the right equipment to hand, I can see how it might be economically feasible to make simple foundationless frames as described by Tom Bick, though.

Hoffmans have only 3 to 4 extra router operations per upright.
 
I needed some deep frames and looked at everybody's favourite website.
I normally buy in the sales but standard price for 20 plus post was approx £38.00

Had a look on ebay as I had noticed some for sale...

25 for £33.00.

No nails tho. Put most of them together the other day. No problems.
 
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