battery powered brad nailer

[The15thMember]

Boy. You guys are big time beeks. I assemble my frames with the included nails from the supplier, using an upholstery hammer... Laid out on a large kitchen cutting board perched on my knees, while watching TV in my den. Pitiful.

How many hives do each of you have?
Me...1

Don't sell yourself short, Bob.  That's exactly what I did when I got my first frames, except I was sitting on the floor at an old coffee table in the living room and using a jewelry hammer!    I usually assemble in the garage now because all my stuff is out there, but I still just sit on the floor and put them together 1 nail at a time, and I still use the jewelry hammer for the end nails.    I have 4 hives now and am entering my 3rd year beekeeping.         

[dd33]

I have the 20v Dewalt stapler Seeb mentioned.  Its a fantastic tool but it is noticeably slower to use than a pneumatic version and the nose trigger thing sits very far forward from where the staples come out.  It takes some getting used to and sometimes if you are stapling very close to the edge of something you can't get the nose to press in at all.

I glue all of my frames and use a Senco 3/8" medium crown stapler with 1 1/2" staples.  The single 3/8" staple seems to hold much better than two 1/4" ones.  I'd say you can move twice as fast with half as many staples but the stapler jams constantly, I need to try a better brand of staple.

[Acebird]

The single 3/8" staple seems to hold much better than two 1/4" ones.

In theory because most staplers are limited to 1 1/4 length.  In the case of the bottom bar two 1/4 crown staplers will hold to destruction of the bottom bar.  A 1 1/2 long staple will cause more shooting out of the side bar or splitting in grainy wood.  So I would conclude that the 3/8 crown is better for the top bar and 1/4 is better for the bottom bar.  But both are better than brad or finish nailers.

[BeeMaster2]

Dd33,
Welcome to Beemaster.
Jim Altmiller

[Seeb]

I have the 20v Dewalt stapler Seeb mentioned.  Its a fantastic tool but it is noticeably slower to use than a pneumatic version and the nose trigger thing sits very far forward from where the staples come out.  It takes some getting used to and sometimes if you are stapling very close to the edge of something you can't get the nose to press in at all.

I glue all of my frames and use a Senco 3/8" medium crown stapler with 1 1/2" staples.  The single 3/8" staple seems to hold much better than two 1/4" ones.  I'd say you can move twice as fast with half as many staples but the stapler jams constantly, I need to try a better brand of staple.

Thanks for your review DD, and welcome!

[Seeb]

Thanks for everyone's help. After a trip to the hardware store and actually looking at the size of the battery operated guns, and finding out my 100 psi air compressor would work with it, I bought a 1/4" pneumatic crown stapler. Yay!

One more question, what length staple do you use for your frames.  In Ace's video it looks like he shoots the same length for top and bottom bars.

[Acebird]

In Ace's video it looks like he shoots the same length for top and bottom bars.

The longest you can get which for me was 1 1/4.

[Seeb]

Thanks

[Acebird]

BTW if you use grooved top bars instead of wedge top bars you can get two staples in the side bar instead of one.  The side bar staple is where the strength is.

[Seeb]

BTW if you use grooved top bars instead of wedge top bars you can get two staples in the side bar instead of one.  The side bar staple is where the strength is.

doggonit - I bought wedge top bars because I'm going wax foundation.  I do have another question though, do you staple the piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top bar, and if so what length staple do you use for that?

[paus]

On the only box of wedge frames I ever used I just used minimal pins because the bees will make it strong enough and the pins make the wedge easier to remove than staples,  when the time comes.  By my admission I have very limited experience with wedges, so two things can be determined. 1. I don't speak with experience, 2. I did not like wedges so I go foundationless and use glued waste thin pieces of wood glued in the slot in frame top. I also use skewers to make the comb strong enough to extract.

[Acebird]

I do have another question though, do you staple the piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top bar, and if so what length staple do you use for that?

Like you I started with wedge top bars and then quit using them.  All I had was 9/16 long bar staples.  A wire staple would be better because the bar goes 90 degrees to the grain and can split the wedge.  Everybody has their preference but I like grooved bars.  The pitfall of grooved bars is if the supplier sends foundation that is too long.  It is a bit of a PITA trimming wires.  Buy it far in advance of needing it and check it as soon as you get it so you can send it back if it is wrong.

[cao]

doggonit - I bought wedge top bars because I'm going wax foundation.  I do have another question though, do you staple the piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top bar, and if so what length staple do you use for that?

I usually use three 1/2" long nails to fasten the wedge in place.  Anything more is overkill.  IMO you want to be able to remove it in one piece when you need to replace old comb with new foundation. 

[Bob Wilson]

I use a Stanley staple gun for the wedge. A bead of glue, then the flat end of the staple gun fits nice against the wedge, squeeze the handle, and three staples along the wedge tack it nice and strong.

[Seeb]

thanks everyone, good point cao, and I do have a manual staple gun as well as 1/2" nails, so I'm set. 

[Acebird]

A bead of glue,

Hot melt or wax is fine but I wouldn't use glue.

[Seeb]

A bead of glue,

Hot melt or wax is fine but I wouldn't use glue.

Tips like this are great, and that is the reason I find Beemaster invaluable. 

[jalentour]

If you plan to put your frames of honey in an extractor you should probably glue and staple/brad them. 
Pulling heavy honey frames from a hive with any sort of propolis and burr comb will often cause the frames to pull apart. 
If you have any sort of success in beekeeping you will need your frames to last a long time.  Sturdy assembly is a good thing.

[Ben Framed]

Make a jig for 10 frames at a time, at least 10,  You will be even on time spent after 20 or 30 frames.  They are quick and easy to make.  I have been using titebond III, but I am going to go back to Gorilla glue for a trial.  I have seen jigs that held a box of 100 frames but they must have a dedicated table and are  heavy and hard to move.  I have considered  a 20 or 30 jig, and I wish I had gone that way at first.

X2
Also if you choose pneumatic, you can place a pancake compressor outside and run ypur hose under your door to all but eliminate the unpleasant noise. No less than a 6 gallon of course. I can shoot up to two inches on mine. I like titebond also. Gorilla should be fine.  Food for thought.
Phillip

[Seeb]

I will be using all medium 8 frame boxes. My thoughts are to let the bees make their own comb, but will load every other frame in the brood boxes with small cell wax foundation to help keep the bee built comb straight.

There are no plans to harvest honey this year, just get the bees established and learn all I can. The bees will arrive in March.  Next year, if all is going well, I intend to extract one super in my hand-cranked extractor. The goal is to eventually have a minimum of a couple frames of cut comb honey and extract at least 12 quarts for my own use and some for gifts. 

I do have a fame jig coming to do 10 at a time.  Here's a pic of some of my honey harvest and canning from years ago
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