Thursday, April 3, 2014

Getting frames together for the bees!


Lots of ends, tops, and bottoms for the frames

First on the list was to build a jig for putting frames together. I built a couple the hard way one at a time and I could see this was going to get really boring very fast.

Some of you that understand these things may notice that the slots are in the wrong place. The frames are wider than that! A brighter lad than me might have made it square, then it wouldn't have mattered.  This is a result of thinking that I really don't need to draw this out on paper, it's so simple. What could go wrong?
Fortunately there was an easy solution. I could still cut the notches for the sliding boards where they belonged and it might even look right to anyone but someone that knows what they are. Those people will see right off what I did and perhaps laugh a little later, but undoubtedly would be too polite to do so in front of me. At least now that I have a nail gun near by.
The two sliding boards temporarily hold the ends of the frames in place so the bottoms and tops can be added. I found that it goes a lot faster to hold one ends worth of the pieces together and apply the glue all at once, and then place them in the jig, as opposed to applying the glue once they are jigged up.

First glue & nail on the bottom boards.

It works just fine, and sure is easier than holding the pieces with one hand, stapling or nailing with the other, and pulling the nail out of my thumb later. It's also ten times faster and they end up perfectly square when they are finished..
Almost done  a set of ten plus an extra. Flip the whole thing over and glue and staple on the top boards, remove the two sliding boards, & they come out of the jig.

I didn't get the last photo, but you get the idea. 




4 comments:

  1. Your not using foundation I take it?

    I will move your link over to the right column tonight, or maybe int he morning I am yawning so much right now I may not make it much longer....

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    Replies
    1. I am on these two hives. At least for the brood. That's the next step. I need to take photographs.

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  2. Being pretty much a "wood butcher" myself I am always impressed by good carpentry skills like that.

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  3. You are a braver man than I, playing with glue above carpet.

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