About 23 years ago, I put up a woodshop from junk & scraps to make my own
wood equipment.
 
During the initial years, it felt good to be working with pinewood, the
smell of fresh cuts, the smoker fuel in abundance, all the little pieces
which found use as beer coasters, parquet, etc., the satisfaction of
fashioning a unique business out of junk and flowers.
 
As the operation grew, the picture changed. Economics muscled it's way into
my reverie. To be able to focus on beekeeping, I needed to free my time from
ancillary tasks. I outsourced. I found a good furniture manufacturer, taught
her people the exacting standards, troubleshooted her machine lines,
incentivised her people. Now, she even gives us a credit line. I order 2
weeks in advance and she can deliver 100 doubles - complete, one month to
pay. If I do it right, I can even pay her with the proceeds from sales.
 
Australia comes out with nice frame ends. All you have to make are straight
top bars and bottom bars. You will have to glue the preformed ends on. Be
sure to wire the frames tightly together. The bees have a little tougher
time "welding" the wax foundation to the top bars, but when they do
everything turns out ok. Be sure to fit the foundation all the way down to
the bottom bars, so the bees can weld it to the wood too. This may take out
most of the work from producing your own beehives.
 
That is if you don't plan on finger-jointing the box corners. Here in the
tropics, we have found that rabbet-jointed corners let less water in and
last longer-if you use the right glue. We use flush covers, no inner covers,
linoleum sheets for inner covers and pallet style bottoms. We do a lot of
moving so our equipment has to be strong and simple. With 4 holes on the
covers and 4 entrances on the bottom boards. We use tin sheets for flooring
to retard the rot. Everything is Langstroth standard - inside dimensions
only.
 
Happy woodworking! Happy New Year to all our Fellow Bekeepers.
 
Joel & Violaine Magsaysay
 
Landline & Telefax: (063) 046-865-0018
Cellphone & Cellfax: IDD: 063-912-318-7517
                                DDD: 0912-318-7517
Mail to: P. O. Box #1, 4118 Silang, Cavite, Philippines
Home Apiary: ILOG MARIA HONEYBEE FARMS
                      #8 ILOG MARIA
                      KM. 47, AGUINALDO HIGHWAY
                      LALAAN 1, SILANG, CAVITE
                      PHILIPPINES