Router table Vs Buying hive

[MartinL]

Depends on what build quality you want to achieve. . . . .You can make a hive with butt jointed, glued and screwed exterior ply, requiring few machines if you get the ply cut for you.

MMMMM, Yes, They have a local raft race, with "rafts" made by the groups competing!
They all look good at the start, (well most of em)!



It's a different story after the Alveston Weir!!!
You can't beat build quality, that would go for materials as well!

 

[rayt]

I made a national bb and a super using a hand saw and a couple of planes. Easier to buy them but it's satisfying as I like making things. If you can scrounge ply out a skip it doesn't cost a lot.

 

[wadey]

All,

Thanks for the great response!

I think I might go for the router/table from Aldi, should do for what I need. I am pretty handy and I like the idea of being able to make my own stuff as and when I need it. Plus maybe a bit of customisation

Another hobby to the ever expanding list...

Thanks again for the help,

Ian

 

[Batcher]

Very interesting reading. I would love to make my own. I think a router/table, table saw and chop saw would do it. Problem is my garage/workshop is full of 'good ideas'
Thanks for a good thread.

 

[clv101]

I like making things... have made nucs, crown boards, clearer boards, frame feeders... But never been tempted to make boxes or roofs. The quality and convenience of the big suppliers doesn't make it worth while for our modest needs.

 

[rae]

You can make a lot of supers out of a sheet of 18 mm ply that costs about £30. Boxes are very easy to make - I get a few sheets of ply in and run up a whole load in one go. Takes about an afternoon to make a stack of supers and broods. Roofs and floors are more fiddly, I buy those in.

The biggest advantage? On a Sunday morning you can inspect, realise you need a stack of boxes for ASing, and run them up by the afternoon.

 

[ugcheleuce]

You can make a lot of supers out of a sheet of 18 mm ply that costs about £30. Boxes are very easy to make - I get a few sheets of ply in and run up a whole load in one go.

Can you post some plans or pictures, please?

 

[rae]

I have an old thread here:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7989

However the forum appears to have eaten the pictures.

 

[Dishmop]

You can make a lot of supers out of a sheet of 18 mm ply that costs about £30. Boxes are very easy to make - I get a few sheets of ply in and run up a whole load in one go. Takes about an afternoon to make a stack of supers and broods. Roofs and floors are more fiddly, I buy those in.

The biggest advantage? On a Sunday morning you can inspect, realise you need a stack of boxes for ASing, and run them up by the afternoon.

 

[John R]

Making my own kit

I often do the is it worth doing myself question (I'm a tight Welshman so it's built in my DNA) I believe it is worth doing it yourself. I make this call based on the fact that I don't have lots of cash, but also don't want to buy cheaper kit that ultimately I'm not happy with, an example of which is ply National hive I bought 2 years ago that doesn't breath like solid wood and condensates internally more. So, over time I've had birthday & xmas presents etc to get myself kitted up with 2nd hand bits like a small router table, nail guns, saws etc. Now I buy my wood from a local saw yard, an example of which is red cedar cut at 2.4m lengths planed and to make a national deep box I can do it for £8 a box.
If you have no free time with young kids etc then that may be a reason to buy in, but there is a real satisfaction with making your own things for beeking, and with the internet now you get plans etc for free on line. I would also say that it's so easy to make exactly what you WANT, not what is available for sale, so repairing kit costs pennies and you can recycle.
I think a lot of beeks are like me, they take pride in what they do with beeking and being able to revert to DIY and self sufficiency/recycling makes sense

 

[Dazzabee]

I have most of the tools required but am struggling to find WRC at reasonable prices in Essex so far. The best Ive found so far which is deep enough to make a national brood is 19mm x 240mm @ £50 for a 2.4m length!

So obviously I'm still looking for a WRC supplier.......

I have built myself some 14 x 12 Ply nuc's using some left over ply which I had in the garage. I've just also built a warming cabinet which I finished yesterday and cost me about £45 in total to build.

 

[John R]

Cost of red Cedar

I have most of the tools required but am struggling to find WRC at reasonable prices in Essex so far. The best Ive found so far which is deep enough to make a national brood is 19mm x 240mm @ £50 for a 2.4m length!

So obviously I'm still looking for a WRC supplier.......

.

I live in Mid wales and things here near welshpool are reasonably priced as there's not a lot of money around. I have found the best red cedar supplier is a timber yard where they buy in bulk timber, trim down, machine and also treat the wood. They also supply the big builders merchants with timber. It's no good going to "shops" or builders merchants as they put big mark ups on it. I just paid £40 for untreated red cedar = 5 planks of planed x 2.4M x 265mm x 20mm, with additional 4 x 2.4m x 50mm x 50mm side rails. this will make circa 6 deep national boxes. I'd also suggest looking for privately owned smaller timber yards if you can. I probably do get looked after well, as I've bought a lot of cladding etc this year with them, and probably spent £3K in total, but not sure it's all about that. the WRC i just had was superb, and with a bit of boiled linseed externally it makes a great BB

 

[Dishmop]

but there is a real satisfaction with making your own things for beeking

I like making all sorts of things.

Camper van from the chassis up, kit car, stretch mini limo, model boats, helicopters, lots of things that dont work.....
and lots of things that cost me pennies to make and earn me a living on ebay.

I always have a great urge to slap people who say "oh arent you clever, I'd never be able to do that" No, perhaps not if you never try.
On the other hand I have seen really beautiful things built by people who have had no training at all.