What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[Newbeeneil]

I had to make up some DN4s earlier this week. Well, finish making them up. I did everything but the wedge and the bottom bar on the wedge side ages ago, to reduce the time required for assembly when I found I needed frames in a hurry -- when I needed to house a swarm, for instance.

For some reason the fit of some of the bottom bars was apallingly bad and in some cases also required hammering to get them in. I had no such trouble when I initially made them up. The frames have been hanging in my frame rack since I assembled them, whereas the loose bottom bars have been in a plastic storage box. I'm wondering if that might be a contributory factor in my case -- perhaps some parts have dried out/shrunk faster than others.

James

Yeah, you may be right but I've never experienced it with any other supplier and I've tried most.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I had to make up some DN4s earlier this week. Well, finish making them up. I did everything but the wedge and the bottom bar on the wedge side ages ago, to reduce the time required for assembly when I found I needed frames in a hurry -- when I needed to house a swarm, for instance.

For some reason the fit of some of the bottom bars was apallingly bad and in some cases also required hammering to get them in. I had no such trouble when I initially made them up. The frames have been hanging in my frame rack since I assembled them, whereas the loose bottom bars have been in a plastic storage box. I'm wondering if that might be a contributory factor in my case -- perhaps some parts have dried out/shrunk faster than others.

James

Hard to be sure but I would suspect moisture absorbed from humidity in the air would cause swelling of the originally kiln dried wood hanging in the racks.

 

[madasafish]

I solve bar issues by placing in a vice and squeezing the ends. Easy

 

[Wilco]

Yeah, you may be right but I've never experienced it with any other supplier and I've tried most.

I've also found them not the easiest to put together and @JamezF I kept the parts all together in a large storage box so I can't use your explanation. Their foundation was nice though, almost finished working through it. My favorite for assembly are now Maisemore although I've only tried their seconds quality.

 

[wessex4291]

I've come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for, tried quite a few in the interest of reducing set up coats, however after the hassle and poor quality I think we're sticking to Thornes and Maisemore frames.

Even Maisemore seconds have been better than most of the cheaper suppliers and seconds were far cheaper overall, only few wedges so far out of 60 built that broke due to knots in awkward places. Shouldn't be too difficult to cut some replacement wedges.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

only few wedges so far out of 60 built that broke due to knots in awkward places. Shouldn't be too difficult to cut some replacement wedges

why bother? either use four nails instead of two or just use the longer part of the broken wedge - doesn't have to go the whole length of the top bar

 

[pargyle]

Well I got a surprise... a whole load of supers arrived.. I told 'er indoors it must be a mistake and they are for someone else but that I could use them ... scrabbled around in the back of the shed and found the box of manleys I bought in a sale... made up another 60 frames ... sadly the seconds on this occasion were not great the side bars so badly machined that I has to cut out the bottom bar separators and even then they're a tight fit. It's just as well I don't use foundation because you would never get it between the bottom bars !

I'd ordered one piece bottom bars but could not use them have a look and see what's wrong with them! Seconds but not as we know it . I'll use them for something. Very hot now and when it cools off I'll see if i can get some of them onto the hives ...

 

[JamezF]

Those are poor There's a difference between "seconds" and "junk" as far as I'm concerned.

I've been hiding in the workshop, cutting down some large lumps of 3"x5"-ish timber that we took out of the house when we were having some work done, to make more insulated clear crown boards. It's all planed and squared up now. Just need to trim it to length, join the sides together and fit the actual crown boards and bee-space strip underneath.

James

 

[pargyle]

Those are poor There's a difference between "seconds" and "junk" as far as I'm concerned.

I've been hiding in the workshop, cutting down some large lumps of 3"x5"-ish timber that we took out of the house when we were having some work done, to make more insulated clear crown boards. It's all planed and squared up now. Just need to trim it to length, join the sides together and fit the actual crown boards and bee-space strip underneath.

James

They were not good ...never had a problem with seconds before ... I just cut the separator out with a Stanley knife ... added a few seconds to each frame - I glue and nail them as I'm foundationless so it wasn't a big deal but they would have been firewood for anyone trying to use them with foundation. The 'seconds' one piece bottom bars .... were the length of the top bar so totally bloody useless ... I'll either shorten them and recut the tenons or ... cut them down and use them on their sides as starter strips ... too long ago to complain.

 

[Swarm]

Well I got a surprise... a whole load of supers arrived.. I told 'er indoors it must be a mistake and they are for someone else but that I could use them ... scrabbled around in the back of the shed and found the box of manleys I bought in a sale... made up another 60 frames ... sadly the seconds on this occasion were not great the side bars so badly machined that I has to cut out the bottom bar separators and even then they're a tight fit. It's just as well I don't use foundation because you would never get it between the bottom bars !

I'd ordered one piece bottom bars but could not use them have a look and see what's wrong with them! Seconds but not as we know it . I'll use them for something. Very hot now and when it cools off I'll see if i can get some of them onto the hives ...

Not Manley bottom bars but the recess should be the same anyway. I've used the stepped Manley bottom bars on brood frames and they still fit. I posted about the frames I got in the Spring sale, first ten top bars from a fifty bundle unusable, the others seem to be fine until I put made up frames in a brood box to take with me. Some how I have room for twelve frames and over half an inch of wiggle room instead of a tight fit that doesn't rattle.

 

[JamezF]

Finished the cutting for my crown boards, so now onto assembly. That's a slow process though as I only have enough sash clamps to glue one at a time.

James

 

[user 20297]

Finished the cutting for my crown boards, so now onto assembly. That's a slow process though as I only have enough sash clamps to glue one at a time.

James

Your skills, techniques and materials are more sophisticated than mine, but I've been sitting the assembled and glued boards on a flat surface under a spare bee-box with some weighty items piled on top of the box for a few hours. That's if you have spare boxes just now: you could make a sandwiched stack of them.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Finished the cutting for my crown boards, so now onto assembly. That's a slow process though as I only have enough sash clamps to glue one at a time.

James

sash cramps for crown boards! I must say I reserve mine for deeps and shallows but I can just manage three at a time

 

[JamezF]

sash cramps for crown boards! I must say I reserve mine for deeps and shallows but I can just manage three at a time

These are 55mm deep crown boards, owing to the fact they'll have insulation sitting inside, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to clamp them whilst the glue dries.

James

 

[JamezF]

Your skills, techniques and materials are more sophisticated than mine, but I've been sitting the assembled and glued boards on a flat surface under a spare bee-box with some weighty items piled on top of the box for a few hours. That's if you have spare boxes just now: you could make a sandwiched stack of them.

Ah, clearly I have not made myself clear

The sides need holding together to keep them square whilst the glue dries because the crown boards have walls. They're more like an eke with the clear crown board fastened to the bottom and a strip of wood under that to give a bee space over the frames.

And in fairness I'm possibly making them a little more complex than is strictly necessary because I have some gates and a small table to make for the garden in the near future and I need the practice

James

 

[user 20297]

Ah, clearly I have not made myself clear

The sides need holding together to keep them square whilst the glue dries because the crown boards have walls. They're more like an eke with the clear crown board fastened to the bottom and a strip of wood under that to give a bee space over the frames.

And in fairness I'm possibly making them a little more complex than is strictly necessary because I have some gates and a small table to make for the garden in the near future and I need the practice

James

No, it's me that's thick and has not been following the story. That's a sophisticated bit of construction that's beyond my woodworking tools and ability.....I'm the king of Kingspan and glue.

 

[JamezF]

For clarity, "here's one I made earlier". My first, in fact, so not quite as neat as I'd have liked.

And with insulation installed:

James

 

[JamezF]

No, it's me that's thick and has not been following the story. That's a sophisticated bit of construction that's beyond my woodworking tools and ability.....I'm the king of Kingspan and glue.

In my formative years, before my dad decided he wanted a life and went into teaching, he worked as an engineer for a company in South Wales that made (amongst other things) breathing apparatus for firemen and for scuba diving. Stuff that's really quite important to get right I think a fair bit of that mindset rubbed off on me, so whilst I often lack the knowledge, the skills or the tools (and often two or more) I still feel compelled to try

James

 

[pargyle]

Not Manley bottom bars but the recess should be the same anyway. I've used the stepped Manley bottom bars on brood frames and they still fit. I posted about the frames I got in the Spring sale, first ten top bars from a fifty bundle unusable, the others seem to be fine until I put made up frames in a brood box to take with me. Some how I have room for twelve frames and over half an inch of wiggle room instead of a tight fit that doesn't rattle.

They were the stepped Manley bottom bars ... the whole lot came on the same order from the same supplier - they were still in the box as I had not bothered to open it ... just stashed it away to use when I ran out of other frames.

Fortunately, the stepped bars would fit, but as you can see, there was not a gnat's whisker to spare. No hope of getting foundation in (not that I use foundation....).

The real pisser was the one piece bottom bars that were the length of the top bar ...

 

[user 20297]

In my formative years, before my dad decided he wanted a life and went into teaching, he worked as an engineer for a company in South Wales that made (amongst other things) breathing apparatus for firemen and for scuba diving. Stuff that's really quite important to get right I think a fair bit of that mindset rubbed off on me, so whilst I often lack the knowledge, the skills or the tools (and often two or more) I still feel compelled to try

James

For the winter, a couple of years ago, I dissected one of the crownboards in the photo, which was just stapled together without glue. The thin ply was easily removed from the slots and replaced with polycarbonate. Spare bits of PIR board in the void and it had the same function as yours.