What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[nantmoel]

Made some OM Floors, well the woodwork using my 'Wood Rat' they are so much better than the ones I have been buying, so I can't wait for my supply of Cedar to come next week.

 

[Galaxy55]

Made some OM Floors, well the woodwork using my 'Wood Rat' they are so much better than the ones I have been buying, so I can't wait for my supply of Cedar to come next week.

Where did you get your cedar from?

 

[8ace]

Just coming towards the end of first batch of home made hives, mainly out of scrap, 7x1 and 9" x1" floors planed and squared up tonight ready for grooving for mesh in morning. Got to bend the galv on these ones for roof covers bought the 1st one ready bent but they are far too expensive. 1 in use so far from the AS I was prompted to rush into service by my bees. Hive making is at least one thing in this hobby I can control and get right

For the price of buying 1 budget cedar hive flat pack with 2 supers, I can instead buy enough timber, runners, galv, mesh,excluder to make 3 full hives with 4 supers on each ! Not cedar but if well treated and sealed should last many many years

 

[rje66]

Made a rudimentary mason/leaf-cutter bee house from old bamboos - now I just have to cross my fingers and hope that they think it's a des res. The purple twine is rather fetching though

Here's my bee hotels,a bit vacant at the moment but they take the bare look off the walls.
Would love to see a pic of your ones

 

[nantmoel]

I use deal, but have some Cedar coming next week from a saw mill in Usk, it green so will need to be dried for a few months first. Here is the web address: http://www.cilfiegansawmill.com

 

[8ace]

I use deal, but have some Cedar coming next week from a saw mill in Usk, it green so will need to be dried for a few months first. Here is the web address: http://www.cilfiegansawmill.com

I tried phoning these back last year but the never answered the phone, I wasn't sure if they had stopped trading. I ll have to have a look how far they are from Usk they are as it is only about a mile from me or so as the crow flies.

 

[malx]

Just coming towards the end of first batch of home made hives, mainly out of scrap, 7x1 and 9" x1" floors planed and squared up tonight ready

How do you square your wood, do you use hand planes or an automated plane?
Any tips on making wood square as it's something that I really struggle with.

 

[nantmoel]

BA Roof

I been playing around with various roof designs, I was looking at an old photo of Brother Adams Apiary and thought why not make our's like he designed his, he even used this design on the moors in his remote mating sites. No metal (at present) just marine plywood. I like the sloping roof as it sheds water easily, the flat side allow you to put supers etc. on top.

 

[8ace]

How do you square your wood, do you use hand planes or an automated plane?
Any tips on making wood square as it's something that I really struggle with.

I use a Dewalt Planer thicknesser (other makes are available ☺ ) to square up and gauge timber to thickness then when assembled and dry I true them up with a smoothing plane so they seat flat. As for squaring up by hand sharp plane is essential and set up properly ie a good sharpening stone cap iron set correctly for timber in use and good steel in the iron makes all the difference

 

[8ace]

I been playing around with various roof designs, I was looking at an old photo of Brother Adams Apiary and thought why not make our's like he designed his, he even used this design on the moors in his remote mating sites. No metal (at present) just marine plywood. I like the sloping roof as it sheds water easily, the flat side allow you to put supers etc. on top.

I like that design and like you Say you can still flip it over to stack you boxes on like the flat roof so the queen doesn't fall out etc and still have the advantage of a sloping roof also can have it facing away from the entrance so it casts the water away

 

[8ace]

Stands now built all ready for sanding .... Might fit a 4" ply skirt below top rail of stands to keep draughts down and help strengthen them up

 

[Erichalfbee]

Knocked up a few brood frames.....I thought I'd finished that for this year but there are scouts at one of the bait hives

 

[Islandbees]

National Beehive joints

Hi all, just wondering how everyone cuts their joints when building nationals. At the minute I'm using a table saw with a jig I made. They all fit together nice and snug but cutting out the notches in the sides takes me forever. Just wondering how I would go on if I had lots to make?

 

[8ace]

Hi all, just wondering how everyone cuts their joints when building nationals. At the minute I'm using a table saw with a jig I made. They all fit together nice and snug but cutting out the notches in the sides takes me forever. Just wondering how I would go on if I had lots to make?

....for the cross rail cut out I use a table saw too you can get a stacked dado head to go in some table saws to widen the saw cut for less operations but UK laws as I understand don't allow them in business use due to amount of finger thy can remove in one go therefore buying them over here is difficult. You could do them on a small morticer before assembly (not a bad option aldi did an £80 morticer a while ago 16mm mortice chisel two operations per hole) or spindle moulder would be ideal with a 15mm groove cutter in it then run them after they are together. You could also set a router up in a table to do it 15mm bit with chip breakers behind them but you'd need to do a few passes after the boxes were together for safety


For the housings, router, 30mm guide bush, 18mm bit slot sides into a made up jig with a stop set 25mm from end of side to housing fit two guide rails 90 deg across you can trench them in one pass or, table saw or radial arm saw....lots of small grooves then though

 

[Islandbees]

Thanks 8ace. At the minute a table saw is what I'm using for housing cuts and cross rails. The groove groove cutter sounds like it'd be the thing to have. I only use the router for the rebated housing cuts for the front and back sections to locate into. I'll try and set a jig up for the housing and give that a go.

 

[Hivemaker.]

....for the cross rail cut out I use a table saw too you can get a stacked dado head to go in some table saws to widen the saw cut for less operations but UK laws as I understand don't allow them in business use due to amount of finger thy can remove in one go therefore buying them over here is difficult.

Buying them is easy, there are several different makes easily available...
here is one...http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-INCH-DA...TO-29-32-/161230538580?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

 

[8ace]

Buying them is easy, there are several different makes easily available...
here is one...http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-INCH-DA...TO-29-32-/161230538580?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

Fair enough if you do buy and use them make sure the saw can take them with the guards on and that it has the power to keep them running under load. You can stop many small saws under load with the normal width of blade adding 2,3,4,5 times or more of the saw cut width will reduce its feed rate capacity.

We used to use them all the time I've been in the joinery trade for 27 years and haven't seen them for the last 5 or so years. They are safe in the right hands on the right machine however

It is by the looks still legal to use by reading this at least, however spin down time is another matter with the extra weight not sure where use in cross cut radial arms saws would sit either.

David Free (Great British Woodshop) used a stacked dado head cutter on
his show the other day. He explained that he checked with all the
appropriate agencies in the UK and was told it is perfectly legal to
use one as long as the TS is manufactured so as to accept one in the
first place. (Arbor length, I assume.) The only restriction is that
the maximum kerf width is 15.5 mm.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Fair enough if you do buy and use them make sure the saw can take them with the guards on and that it has the power to keep them running under load. You can stop many small saws under load with the normal width of blade adding 2,3,4,5 times or more of the saw cut width will reduce its feed rate capacity.

We used to use them all the time I've been in the joinery trade for 27 years and haven't seen them for the last 5 or so years. They are safe in the right hands on the right machine however

Most new saws made in the EU don't have a long enough spindle/arbor to take stacked dado blades, plus the braking system on them could be dangerous with a stacked dado.
We use old Wadkin and Startrite saws, which they work in very well, have one older set plus a wobble blade (don't like the latter at all) and two of the sets like in the link, bought several years ago now, they have gone up quite a bit in price now though i notice.

 

[8ace]

Most new saws made in the EU don't have a long enough spindle/arbor to take stacked dado blades, plus the braking system on them could be dangerous with a stacked dado.
We use old Wadkin and Startrite saws, which they work in very well, have one older set plus a wobble blade (don't like the latter at all) and two of the sets like in the link, bought several years ago now, they have gone up quite a bit in price now though i notice.

We had a brake fitted to one of our old 24" rips saws to comply with new regs a few years ago at my last place, after a while because the rundown time was so quick it used to undo the nut on the blade! Same thing could happen with these with an electronic brake I gues

 

[malx]

I use a Dewalt Planer thicknesser (other makes are available ☺ ) to square up and gauge timber to thickness then when assembled and dry I true them up with a smoothing plane so they seat flat. As for squaring up by hand sharp plane is essential and set up properly ie a good sharpening stone cap iron set correctly for timber in use and good steel in the iron makes all the difference

Thanks, I thought that may be the case. Trying to justify spending more money in the workshop