I’m doing the same with the Christmas wrapped jars that didn’t sell at the recent Xmas Fayre in the village. Better than saving them until next year.
Yes. Exactly that.
Do you find the fan helps? I use an old fridge which holds 3 buckets easily (i could probably fit 4) with 2x40w tube heaters but no fan, controlled with a plug in Inkbird heater/cooler which is also internet linked so eg once I think it's had long enough I can turn it down remotely to 30C - still warm enough to flow easily. Great for liquefying when you are away to be ready on return.
I assume it helps to dissipate the heat from one side of the bucket. My box is horizontal with the 2' heater on the side so one side of the buckets is likely to get very hot and the otherside only gets heat via natural convection in the box. Also there is likely to be hot and cold spots so the thermostat might not actually read the correct temperature of the box so a fan helps to even every thing up.
And of course I want to keep the weight down. They will be sufficient to double up as a five-frame nuc in an emergency though.
Hi James, it was me that made the glue heater out of a 12v 15w silicon mat.Likely I'm getting a bit previous, but at present I'm making a couple of swarm collection boxes, mostly from 5.5mm ply, so I don't have the usual mad rush to find a suitable cardboard box should I need one next year. I was only going to make one, but I looked at the pile of wood I'd pulled together in the workshop and decided there was enough to make two and it wasn't really that much more time-consuming, so why not?
The design is loosely based on David Cushman's, somewhat simplified as I feel his is really quite over-engineered. If a cardboard box does the job, anything significantly more complex is clearly over the top
The major problem is that PU glue goes a bit treacly once temperatures get down to around 5°C. I seem to recall one poster here making a "glue warming plate" to help. I just keep the container inside my jacket when it isn't in use
James
Are these boxes sort of like the old tea chests ? As for the glue, stick mine in a jug of warm water or wrapped in a wheat bag, whatever it takes. Working in a cold workshop is no fun. I have an 80yrs old Romesse stove to keep the chill off.Likely I'm getting a bit previous, but at present I'm making a couple of swarm collection boxes, mostly from 5.5mm ply, so I don't have the usual mad rush to find a suitable cardboard box should I need one next year. I was only going to make one, but I looked at the pile of wood I'd pulled together in the workshop and decided there was enough to make two and it wasn't really that much more time-consuming, so why not?
The design is loosely based on David Cushman's, somewhat simplified as I feel his is really quite over-engineered. If a cardboard box does the job, anything significantly more complex is clearly over the top
The major problem is that PU glue goes a bit treacly once temperatures get down to around 5°C. I seem to recall one poster here making a "glue warming plate" to help. I just keep the container inside my jacket when it isn't in use
James
I remember walking the west highland way one February, I was carrying so much warm kit that the effort kept me warm and I rarely needed it!In a miniature form, yes, I guess they are similar to tea chests. Without the foil lining
I am somewhat reluctant to heat the workshop because of the condensation issues it causes. Other than heating it to the same temperature all the time (which I know some people do, particularly when they're earning their living from it) I've not found a compromise with which I feel comfortable.
As a desk-jockey of more than three decades standing, I feel I'm adapting remarkably well to being in an unheated workshop all day. At work the heating controls are basically restricted to "roller shutter open" and "roller shutter closed". Slinging 35kg sheets of 8x4 plywood around does the rest
James
Isn't that just the way of things?!But if you hadn't taken it, you'd have got cold and would have needed it
James
So you started at the top warm and comfortable and have been slowly working your way down ever since :} I am presuming the condensation would be via a gas heater, My stove removes the moisture in my experience. I stand wood to be worked in proximity so as to warm which assists in gluing. I only use PU when really necessary. My very first official job was in an old co op funeral parlour complex. We had stables, coach parking inside a covered courtyard, a crypt, chapel of rest complete with organ and a coffin workshop over the courtyard parking with an adjoining office . We had hanging bars over the wood stoves for drying the coffin coatings, the stoves also had stands for the glue pots to warm on. If that building was here now it would be preserved and probably listed. It was a surprisingly light and friendly place to work. Coffin boards of English Elm were a standard produced by sawmills for the purpose of. I am currently sat at a table made of the same, homemade ? of course. Those t chests used metal corners for strength.In a miniature form, yes, I guess they are similar to tea chests. Without the foil lining
I am somewhat reluctant to heat the workshop because of the condensation issues it causes. Other than heating it to the same temperature all the time (which I know some people do, particularly when they're earning their living from it) I've not found a compromise with which I feel comfortable.
As a desk-jockey of more than three decades standing, I feel I'm adapting remarkably well to being in an unheated workshop all day. At work the heating controls are basically restricted to "roller shutter open" and "roller shutter closed". Slinging 35kg sheets of 8x4 plywood around does the rest
James
I had to look that at. I never knew such things existed......they come in different colours, opening up a whole new world
I had to look that at. I never knew such things existed......they come in different colours, opening up a whole new world
What method have you found that involves least labour and best result?
Depends whether plastic or steel
