Not a Shopsmith Owner......yet

[charlese]

Not being knowledgeable about making beehives, I couldn't help but notice the plans from the link in post #9 show the boxes made from plywood and the box corners are assembled with rabbets rather than box joints.

beeg (Bob) has answered your questions quite nicely. I was also going to post the forstner bit method. Your drillings will need a little cleanup with a chisel. Plywood would be pretty tough to chisel to a smooth surface whereas pine could be worked easily. I think I remember the plywood site showing hand holes all the way through the wood. I wonder if this is a good idea?

White pine is likely a better choice of wood for hives. I have to remember way back to a friend of mine having only white pine hives.

Since looking at various plans on the internet, I've found corners made with box joints, rabbet joints or simply butt jointed and nailed.

[JPG]

Inquire of the seller the color and serial number as well as the manufacturer's name on the vent plate.

[rick42_98]

Charlese. Pine is the wood of choice for beehives and yes, the strongest corners are box jointed. When I order them from the supply catalogs they come knocked down and when I assemble them I can see how close the tolerances are on those box joints. I need a rubber mallet to knock them together (of course I paint glue on the mating surfaces first), followed by D7 box nails. I hope to be able to make those joints as close as the catalog guys do but we'll see about that. The handholds, I believe, are done by some machine that gouges out the wood in the shape you see in the link in one of my earlier posts. Thanks for your valuable advice.

JPG. I will note both the color and serial number in the future.

Thank you both....

[JPG]

Charlese. Pine is the wood of choice for beehives and yes, the strongest corners are box jointed. When I order them from the supply catalogs they come knocked down and when I assemble them I can see how close the tolerances are on those box joints. I need a rubber mallet to knock them together (of course I paint glue on the mating surfaces first), followed by D7 box nails. I hope to be able to make those joints as close as the catalog guys do but we'll see about that. The handholds, I believe, are done by some machine that gouges out the wood in the shape you see in the link in one of my earlier posts. Thanks for your valuable advice.

JPG. I will note both the color and serial number in the future.

Thank you both....

The manufacturer's name is also relevant. It will help date it. The serial numbers are not all known, and are not exclusive.

[reible]

Hi,

When I finished by "work" today I had a few minutes so I wanted to see how plywood would respond to the hand grip idea on the pine boxes url'd to.

Keep in mind this was a simple test and the set up was done to do a test... as was the scrap of plywood I cut etc etc etc.

This is the set-up, in vertical drill press mode, because it was already in that mode. Speed reducer will most likely be needed to get the rpm down to around 250 or slower (slower is better in this case as I'm not using the bit center to hold thing steady).

[ATTACH]14015[/ATTACH]

This is a close up of the cut while still clamped in place. Note the shavings, more of them then dust is a good thing. Feed rate was slow and constant.

[ATTACH]14016[/ATTACH]

This shows the cut from another angle. I would say very little clean up is need.

[ATTACH]14017[/ATTACH]

The cut was done at 15 deg. and I forgot to look at the bit size but I would guess at 2+". By changing the angle and bit size and depth of cut one should get to very close to the sample shown.

Ed

[algale]

Hi,

When I finished by "work" today I had a few minutes so I wanted to see how plywood would respond to the hand grip idea on the pine boxes url'd to.

Keep in mind this was a simple test and the set up was done to do a test... as was the scrap of plywood I cut etc etc etc.

This is the set-up, in vertical drill press mode, because it was already in that mode. Speed reducer will most likely be needed to get the rpm down to around 250 or slower (slower is better in this case as I'm not using the bit center to hold thing steady).

[ATTACH]14015[/ATTACH]

This is a close up of the cut while still clamped in place. Note the shavings, more of them then dust is a good thing. Feed rate was slow and constant.

[ATTACH]14016[/ATTACH]

This shows the cut from another angle. I would say very little clean up is need.

[ATTACH]14017[/ATTACH]

The cut was done at 15 deg. and I forgot to look at the bit size but I would guess at 2+". By changing the angle and bit size and depth of cut one should get to very close to the sample shown.

Ed

These photos pique my interest (and not because I'm making beehives). I've been curious how the speed reducer operates in drill press mode. I assume that the clamp pressure on the tubes must be be pretty light to allow the speed reducer to glide somewhat on the tubes thereby allowing the quill to be advanced. Is that right? Do those who have and use the speed reducer notice any change in run-out?

[reible]

Hi,

In drill press mode, either vertical or horizontal the clamp must be loose enough to allow the spreed reducer to slide on the tubes. In my case I've added two small pieces of uhmw tape to speed reducers "feet" that slide on the tubes. Just loosen the screw enough to allow it to move smoothly and it has worked fine for me.

When used in lathe mode the screw is tightened to the tubes. I'm not a big lathe guy but when I have used it things seem to be stable... Rounding some thing at 700 rpm is a lot different then at 100 rpm, I'd always go with the slower speed and then when things are closer you will want the normal shopsmith speeds so I take the speed reducer out of the picture.

Did someone say picture? Well that is tonight's secret word so here is your free picture:

[ATTACH]14018[/ATTACH]

If you look closely you can see the white tape between the tube and mounting.


Ed

These photos pique my interest (and not because I'm making beehives). I've been curious how the speed reducer operates in drill press mode. I assume that the clamp pressure on the tubes must be be pretty light to allow the speed reducer to glide somewhat on the tubes thereby allowing the quill to be advanced. Is that right? Do those who have and use the speed reducer notice any change in run-out?

[rick42_98]

One of the things that attract me to SS are the ingenious ways it can be used. For that, Reible, I thank you. It should work even better on pine but you have shown me that it can be done. Again, thanks to all of you!!

[algale]

Hi,

In drill press mode, either vertical or horizontal the clamp must be loose enough to allow the spreed reducer to slide on the tubes. In my case I've added two small pieces of uhmw tape to speed reducers "feet" that slide on the tubes. Just loosen the screw enough to allow it to move smoothly and it has worked fine for me.

When used in lathe mode the screw is tightened to the tubes. I'm not a big lathe guy but when I have used it things seem to be stable... Rounding some thing at 700 rpm is a lot different then at 100 rpm, I'd always go with the slower speed and then when things are closer you will want the normal shopsmith speeds so I take the speed reducer out of the picture.

Did someone say picture? Well that is tonight's secret word so here is your free picture:

[ATTACH]14018[/ATTACH]

If you look closely you can see the white tape between the tube and mounting.


Ed

Ed,

Thanks for the very good explanation and photos. I like the modification too. I will be on the lookout for one of these.

Al

[rpd]

An alternate method to make the hand holds would be to cut a short slot with a dado blade.

In the photo linked to below the second super from the top in the front row center hive has that type of handle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beehives.jpg