> >Being that the hive body is or should be 7/8" in thickness Most North American hives are now 3/4 inches thick, since finished lumber is 3/4 inch thick these days. At one time finished lumber was thicker, and since the beehive's critical dimensions are _inside_, not outside due to bee spaces, when the lumber was changed this meant the outer size had to change a bit, if 3/4 was to be adopted. Some beehive manufacturers stuck with 7/8" so that floors, lids, etc would still be right -- in and out. Some claim the extra thickness is important for strength, however all commercial beekeepers I know of have long since gone to the thinner material for reasons of cost, weight, etc. I don't think anyone misses the extra weight and size. I sure don't. I have supers that must be over 50 years old and some that have been made in just about every year up to the present. Represented are both rabbet and dovetail construction, using pine, spruce, and even a cedar or 3/4" plywood in a few cases. A few even have simple butt joints which work, but are not highly recommended due to lower strength. All work about equally well, but the 3/4 pine dovetail boxes are likely the most durable. Cedar and 3/4 plywood do not last well. >>I set the Dado's to 5/8" in depth. With the saw running I slowly >>lower the panel over the dado within the jig untill flat with the >>table top. Then I lift it off and all's done. While this will work, the handhole thus made will not be very long. After the board is flat on the table, move the board about 2" in a lengthwise direction, this will give a more standard length. Of course, you must allow for this and start 1" closer to one end than the other. > This is known as a plunge cut and is extremly dangerous on a table > saw. This is because the cutting action of the tool is back towards > the operator. Make a jig that holds the bottom edge of the board > such that it cannot be thrown toward the operator. Also be sure > that as you lower the board that if it does catch, it will not drag > fingers into the blade. You cannot depend on reaction time, the jig > must do the protecting. Don's advice here is very wise. It is hard to believe where the board can wind up if it catches in a powerful saw -- and where your hands might be (in the blade?) split seconds later, *if* you have not thought it all out carefully *and* used a jig or a stop. A safer way for the novice is to assemble the box, then put the handholes on, because you have a lot more to hold onto, and can stay away from the blade. Just be sure to get the handholes on right side up. Boxes with handholes upsided down look funny. One fellow mentioned using cleats --3/4 X 16" X 2" sticks that are nailed on the front and back for lifting. They are very superior in many ways, becuse you can really get a grip, and because mechanical aids can get a relly positive hold. However in any sizeable operation, they tend to be unpopular because of the dificulty in stacking and palletizing something with bumps on the end -- and appreciably more storage and truck deck is required. We had some supers with cleats until last year, when we finally tore them all off to make the supers conform to the balance of our equipment -- and our pallets. On some boxes, we have not yet made handholes, and yet the boxes are quite maneagable, and some of our boys do not use the handholes even on boxes that have them, preferring rather to grab the box from underneath. Although we made a special saw table to cut the handholes, we found the butterfly cutter we had made got dull very quickly and had to give up. Apparently, dust and sand had gotten under the cleats and into the paint, so that whenever we tried to cut a handhole where a cleat had been, the grit dulled the blades. We will have to go to a carbide saw blade dado, or wobble washer blade again -- unless we are prepared to scrape to the wood at each cut. I had hoped to make the sexy looking commercial scooped slits, but I had also wanted it to be a job that an unskilled helper could do without much supervision. Managing and sharpening shaper heads is not as easy and idiot-proof as running a carbide blade. Regards Allen W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask] Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>