Constructing the Beehive

The lumber, three 1x10x12s, also a piece of plywood and a package of all purpose lath in the back. Note the snow in the background. This might be Minnesota, but we usually don't have snow in April. In fact, we had two winter storm warnings in May as well. Our spring arrived so late that our shipment of bees kept getting postponed.

Grandpa, cutting the plywood on the radial arm saw. We also used this saw to cut the 1x10s to length as well as the top bars.

Our surprise find. The all purpose lath. It was the perfect height for the top bars so we just had to cut it into narrower strips and then to length. We also used it for the toggles to keep the windows in place, as well as for the jar feeder.

The "help" (i.e. - junior beekeepers Noah and James), got very bored on day one. Luckily they brought some books to read.

This is proof that I did something. This is me using a jig saw to free hand the windows in the boxes.

Here's how they ended up. On the right is some felt that I had lying around that we used as a sort of insulation. We stapled it under the plexiglass on on the backside of the windows. Time will tell if that was a good idea or not.

A guide we made on the table saw to cut the lath to the right dimensions for the top bars. We alsu used this saw to cut all the boards to the correct width and the plexiglass too.

Here's the table saw again with grandpa cutting the plexiglass to size. Notices the bandages on his fingers. This is day two. On day one we had a little accident with the table saw and a trip to the ER. He wasn't doing anything wrong, in fact we had already given the boys the "safety talk" about power tools and were being extra careful. It just caught a knot or something and kicked back. Thankfully, one of the safety precautions grandpa was using was having the blad only set to an eight of an inch higher than the lumber he was cutting. This action literally saved his fingers! The worst that happened was a lost finger nail. Respect the tools! They can be dangerous even when used correctly. Take all appropriate safety measures!!

The "help" got bored on day two as well. They took to climbing trees to pass the time.

Although... there was a little more for them to help out with. This is Noah stapling the felt to the back side of the box, underneath where the plexiglass will be.

Here's the roof coming together. The top board is one of the places we used the plywood. This board, in Warre's plan, was thinner than the rest. I assume because it needs to breath to allow moisture to evaporate from the quilt. I hope the glue holding the plywood together can breath!

The roof. again. Almost done!

And here's what we got accomplished in two days at Grandpa's. The base, one box, the quilt, and the roof. The rest of the pieces are cut out and the holes drilled as well, so we'll finish those at home.

And, to thank the boys for their patients, we surprised them with some swords we made.