I now have a source for rough cut lumber and purchased 40 foot of 1x8 for $10. I told the owner that I was looking for the older lumber that had not been purchased and had aged a bit, gone grey. He directed me to a pile of boards and let me rummage through. I found plenty of pieces and chose two with various defects, knot holes, rounded end cut to see what I can do with those and two nice boards. I will need to make adjustments to keep the interior space the same but otherwise I should end up with a better amount of insulating value with a full 1 inch thickness.
On top of the lumber I also scored as much saw dust and shavings as I might want! Saw dust makes a great garden mulch and the shavings are great livestock bedding!
Any and all comments are welcome, this is a forum for learning and sharing. Any one with plans for hive boxes and frames using rough cut lumber would be welcome also.
highlander
I just built a band saw sawmill. I built ten medium lang supers, top covers, bottoms, to long langs and about 200 mediam frames. I used odd sized wood, barn wood, cedar, cherry, pine but mostly oak. I found that since I was mixing and matching board thicknesses I had to build one at a time and not cut for all ten at once. Takes a bit longer.
I don't even have bees yet. I have twelve traps set but no bites.
I built the sawmill cause I ran out of all my exess wood. I have been working the bugs out of my saw and have sawn about six logs. I have stacked and stickered the boards to dry. Mostly oak and a little cedar. Only about half of them are really good boards but the rest will work for raised garden and bee hives.
I am in the middle of cutting a oak today. I like the cutting a lot better then the stacking and storing.
I hope to end up with bees and should be able to make anything it takes if I need more equiptment.
I tried to post a picture or two on this site but didn't feel like going to the trouble to resize them all so I could post.
I have not bought anything for bees yet but may have to buy bees next year if I don't get lucky with the traps.
It sure took a lot of wood to build a few hives. Had I been buying it and even time wise, it is probly cheaper to buy mass produced hives then do it my way. I am retired though and have more time them I have money. I don't value my time too highly as long as I am also enjoying what I am doing.
I hope you are enjoying what you are doing and it sounds as though you are.
Rough cut is harder to mass produce with unless it is really uniformly cut. I am terible at the math and had to redo a couple that I just tried to make all the cuts using math. Had all my boards been the exact same I could have made one mesure and then made ten. I was mixing and matching as I found wood.
Cheers
gww
gww,
Once you get to milling your own wood it will all be the same even if its rough cut and not finished size. Wish I had a portable saw mill around here, a few years ago with Hurricane Irene almost every Eastern Hemlock was knocked over, there is some massive lumber in them for the taking. I use the smaller ones as fence posts. The guy at that owns the sawmill said he gets a fair number of honey bees setting up shop in his drying stacks, so keep an eye out. If my math is correct, I should get 5 medium boxes and a number of frames or a couple of bottom boards. This will be a test run.
I am also retired and have had to buy bees several times, but now feel confident enough to ry my hand at creating a few 10 frame nucs along with expansion of my hive numbers. I have time and tools and enough know how to get into real trouble.
Best of luck and good hunting!
High
I am new enough on it that I have not gotten all the same thickness boards yet. I haven't put a cut measuring stick on it yet either and may never get to it. I have several thickness boards I cut that I can't make myself cut up into firewood. I am just learning and measuring each cut indiviually. I am getting better and I do get some pretty consistant cuts now. There is still the shrinkage from drying and I don't really know what affect that will have. I think most cut a bit big and then polish and size with a planer. I can borrow my uncle's planer but doubt I go to that trouble. I had a pretty good time building the last hives but must admit it took about three times longer then I thought it would.
I really love being retired and able to follow my little hobies. I don't make a lot of money and can't do overtime when I want to buy something but mostly I don't want to by any thing, I just want to piddle. I haven't found I have any more time cause something always keep you busy.
It is amazing how much wood the frames take. I finaly did buy a stapler for them. When it works, it really speeds things up.
gww
g,
I found that I had "less" time then before but it was really that I was doing things I wanted to do, like keeping bees and raising heritage breed turkeys. I have a part time job working Merchandizing at Home Depot, regular days/hours and I do not change them. Monday and Tuesday 8 hours and 4 hours on Wednesday. Gives me that extra "what I want" money without destroying the life of a pensioner. Sort of like working a shift or two of overtime a week.
I am eying a palm nailer for putting the boxes and frames together, but I need a mud hen pump to clean out some old cattle wells first. Going to be a dry year I think and the garden will need to be watered. These old wells are filled with sand but still run nicely. Its always something on an old farm...
You should look around, you may find a Beek with an extra nuc who might like a few boxes in exchange...just a thought.
Enjoy!
H
Heck I would buy them if I found someone with bees around me. I knew I should have ordered early but I really didn't like the ideal of not knowing the day of pickup and the be there or else. I had a guy that if his bees did well he was going to sell me a couple of frames of brood and shake a few bees in, His bees did not do well. Everything is 70 miles from me. I know one bee keeper around here and he has offerred to take me while he works his hive but doesn't want to sell. I guess I will order early and drive next year. I still like the ideal of dealing with real poeple that are local better.
I am living on twenty acres by a very small town. I spent the day putting up a grape aubor. I have to pay bills and try to get a load of (poop) for the garden. I don't have turkeys but do have chickens. I am not looking for any kind of work though I don't hate money. I don't expect to make or lose any money on the bees, chickens or lumber. I have only been retired going on my second year and I can't fathom working again unless I screw up and have no choice. I am working my butt of around here though.
I don't have a lot of money but life is pretty good right now.
cheers
gww