Free frames from scrap 2x4s

This time we take a look at a gentleman who has beaten the skyrocketing price of Landstroth frames. Really nice woodworking tutorial.
Please don't forget to help me out with a Like, Subscribe and Share.

[@jdeking2]

All of my beehaver friends that thought I was crazy making my equipment because time is worth money and it's cheaper to buy frames couldn't get frames or boxes since the pandemic started. I bought all of my equipment off of facebook over a couple months time. Thickness planer, jointer, radial arm saw, 4 old 1950's Craftsman table saws, router, and a few other odds and ends for less than $600. I set each piece of equipment set up for a different step. I use scrap and buy cheap cut offs from Lowe's. I have hives and all the frames that I need and it cost me less than if I were to buy them. People need to stop putting a monetary value on what they do for themselves. I have those same beehavers wanting to buy my products now. I'm a beekeeper for close to 30 years now.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

That is awesome Jeff! I used to think frames weren't worth taking the time to make too but it is really satisfying to build them yourself. I appreciate you watching and commenting.

[@againstallflags1904]

I have been building my own hive boxes for years, but never tried building frames. They used to be relatively inexpensive, but of course that has changed. I was experiencing a great deal of angst about the expense of ordering frames for a substantial bee yard expansion. I can get my hands on plenty of scrap wood so I can follow this very practical procedure and will consider the resulting time and effort well spent. Sincere thanks to you both!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

That is awesome Against all Flags, you get a lot of satisfaction from making hive components for our bees. I don't have a dado stack for my table saw but I just bought a cheap table router from Harbor Freight and will use that next time I need frames. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thanks so much for stopping by. Next video will be released Sunday at noon. See you then 😃

[@Manuherikiabeekeeping]

Very interesting 👍 thanks for uploading 😄

[@saljr6742]

I like the different jigs Chris has created to accomplish each task. I invested in a used a 6" jointer I found on Facebook Marketplace to eliminate all the blade changes. Best investment I made so far. Thanks again for sharing.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you for watching Sal, I appreciate you. Chris does really good work and I enjoyed filming him. DC does his sidebar cuts on a router table instead of a dado stack so there are a few ways to accomplish these cuts. All the best!

[@johnjones9017]

Man you have a new subscriber. Great videos ... Will be watching your videos and trying to build my own stuff. Yes i do construction work and have seen a lot of wood thrown away. Thanks for sharing.

[@tonyt.1596]

Thanks so much for creating this video with Chris. Now I know how to make the jigs, Excellent!!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Tony, Thanks for stopping by 😎. I give all the credit to Chris, he is an amazing woodworker. I appreciate you commenting and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[@ShaunGrobler-tu9qo]

Thank you for this message. I am a carpenter got lots of wood scraps... I want to start beekeeping but doing carefully my research before I put action into it... Thank you for all the pointers and lessons... God bless you!

[@michaelherron1674]

Great tips. Thanks!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Michael, I give all the credit to Chris: His homemade frames come out much better than mine. Thank you for stopping by and commenting 😎

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

Beek's never fail to amaze me 👍 good job man 👍 thanks

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thanks for watching and commenting Houston. I appreciate you.

[@nunyah64]

Nice video that’s almost the way I cut my frame parts! A bit of advice from someone with 45 years of cabinet making! Make you a couple of feather boards! That’s the safest and only way to rip small and repetitive pieces of wood like you’re doing! Love your channel content!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thanks for the tips!

[@BeesForTheBrave]

Would be great to see how the top/bottom bars were made. May be time to go back and visit him again ;)

[@suzylarry1]

good lessons and good safety practices

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you Sir, Chris really knows his woodwork and with me being a Cheap-Charley, any time I can repurpose scrap into something useful I am happy.

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Great video instructions for free wood appliances, I myself leave that kind off wood dry first for a year or 3 to avoid uncomfortable warping on the long run

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Great tip Benjamin.

[@ToBeeOrNotToBeHoney]

I do the sides a little differently to save the cutting the profile edge cut on each side. 1) plane the 2xN to correct width first (shaving the 2xN's top and bottom) saves cutting every side to size and no finger near the saw :) 2) Dado the top and bottom bar notches (centered and the correct sizes for my top and bottom bars) 3) Run the block part way through a joiner to a stop block 1/8" deep (make the side profile for all bars in one cut per side). 4) slice the block with a band saw (less waste to kerf mean more bars per 2xN) also fewer blade changes. Done. Be safe!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Good on you: It always feels good and saves money to make these things yourself. 😎

[@Burntbranchcreekbees]

Fortunate to have a table saw, bandsaw, thickness planer, and joiner, so this technique will save me time and money..Thanks

[@timfoster5043]

Excellent video! I'm hoping to get into beekeeping next year, and have been looking for a video with this kind of detail. ...so I don't have to re-invent the wheel. (excellent idea bout using the dado stack to make the "Y" of the frame!) Thanks!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Glad it was helpful!

[@pedrodelgado3879]

Great video. A safety tip: Your push stick should not go over the blade. Make thinner so it does not contact the blade and stays on the inside with the piece being cut. If you slightly drop that stick as it is, it will kick back and hurt you.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Good Morning Pedro, Great tip. Thank you for commenting 🙂

[@tl3192]

Thnx for the vid and tell your friend also

[@naturallive4625]

You do a great job. I make all my frames and bee hives from scrap wood. Also old pallets work well. I also catch swarms. This makes bee keeping cheap and a lot more fun. People who like this can look at y channel. But the films are in Dutch. Kind regards Jacques from the Netherlands

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you for watching and for your kind comments Jacques, I agree that you don't need to spend crazy money to take care of bees. I am not as good woodworking as my friend Chris but it feels very good to build my own equipment.

[@naturallive4625]

@@bruceandhisbees1770 Dear Bruce, The best way of learning is by doing. A bee hive can be made quit simple.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

@@naturallive4625 You are correct sir.

[@11BossLife11]

Thanks

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Welcome

[@stanleyjones6705]

when I am cutting the sides off I put a large box off the back of my tablesaw, that way I am not leaning over the blade. I have invested in woodworking equipment and run the 2xmaterial thru a planer, cut to size, run 1/2 way thru my planer, cut notches in top and bottom then cut off 3/8 side bars.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Sounds like a great way to do it, thanks for sharing

[@howardmcadams3852]

Thanks Sir for Sharing this with us. This will help us so much. Thanks Again

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

My pleasure Sir, thank you for watching!

[@timbundi2785]

👍cool,okay

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you very kindly 😎

[@charlesmaxey9165]

How did you make the jig for making the relief cut on the side bars?

[@Burntbranchcreekbees]

Running your stock initially through a surface planer to achieve the width of the sidebars would eliminate the thick side thin side issue.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

That would be the way to go. I really should buy a planer one of these days.

[@VtPapa]

Great video I only wish you had added the dimensions of your jigs. I would love to make some frames and need to make a jig to cut out the ends for the frames. Thanks again for sharing an awesome video.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thanks, I am really not very scientific about this and usually just use a store-bought frame piece as a reference for my cuts. I didn’t get the measurements from my friend Chris.

[@VtPapa]

Bruce I read the other tex you received and I must agree you need to use a push stick that fits your work along with the feather board. Also I wanted to comment about the burr comb and wax scarping from your bee hives.We should all carry a little pail to keep the wax in, it adds up over the year. Also helps protect your bee yards from small hive beetles. Ok I have to plan my next job with the bees. Hope you had a Merry Christmas with lots of HONEY

[@sheilamclaughlin963]

Buy your first hive, then you have every thing you need,just make your jigs and go, I drill, glue and screw my boxes, glue and cross nail all frames, unglued frames will pull apart sometimes!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

@@sheilamclaughlin963 Sure but there is a certain amount of satisfaction from building stuff yourself. Plus it’s cheaper - I asked my bees and they said they don’t care if it’s not store-bought.

[@vinceaardal2681]

I have just now come across this video and noticed your jigs you use. Do you by chance have a video or anyway to share the jig construction? Looks like it makes frames super simple. Thanks for any help you can send.

[@olddave4833]

I noticed that the top bar where it rests on the box is not tapered 15 degrees, will that matter??

[@johnmcgee9053]

Great tips! Thank you. Does Chris have a youtube channel? Hoping to pick up a little more info on his top and bottom bars as well as his jigs.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Not that I know of

[@jadaneforbes5083]

I watch those videos too😅

[@PaganWizard]

Are there any plans available for Chris's jigs and frames??

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

No, he just thought about it and whipped them up.

[@Chopstick_Gang]

Very informative! Can any kind of wood be used?!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you for watching Chopstick Gang, He used untreated 2x4 and 2x6 scraps from a construction site.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Untreated wood is good because some of the older pressure treatments could be bad for the bees.

[@DennisZimmerman]

How does he make the top and bottom bars?

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Dennis, Thanks for watching! The top and bottom boards are much simpler to do than the side bars: I don't have the dimensions in front of me but the top and bottom boards are cut to size, notched at the ends to accept the side boards, then a groove is cut to accept foundation if desired.

[@UltFrizz]

I think I might just do a few hours of overtime at work and buy some frames. Time is money my friend

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Good Morning MG, you are completely correct Sir. But for an old guy like me, it is hard to pay these prices when I remember when all this woodwork was dirt cheap. Also, I get some satisfaction from building stuff myself. I appreciate you watching and commenting 🙂

[@heavymechanic2]

Lumber prices? UGH! I saw a woodworker in PA making frames with a bandsaw, too much effort for the benefit when frames were a dollar each. Its still a lot of work to make a hundred frames at a time vs buying them in bulk. I'm making simple boxes to go over a hive top round feeder with an inner cover attached, just using cheap fence boards as a permanent part of my hive.. As others mentioned, the time saving jig makes this more practical for someone with higher quality machinery/tools. The basic table saw I own does not have a dado plate and the crosscut mitre piece is not precision to do any quality work (just stating the facts). I bought a chop saw to make more precision end cuts.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I know what you mean! I also bought a chop saw for the same reason.

[@heavymechanic2]

@@bruceandhisbees1770 Hey Bruce, I really likes watching your many videos

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

For sure, the boxes and woodworking tools can be fairly simple and cheap - the best part is that the bees don’t care.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

@@heavymechanic2 Thank you Vegan 😎

[@mikeoxlong3224]

Why not use a jointer

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Mike, The only reason is that I don’t have a jointer. This video is geared toward giving people an idea for keeping their costs down. I appreciate you watching and commenting 😎

[@brettellis1837]

WOULD PAY TO HAVE 2 SAWS SET UP IF ONE IS INTO BEES WOULD PAY OF IN THE END. RIPPER STUFF BRILLIANT.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you Brett, glad you enjoyed it!

[@brettellis1837]

@@bruceandhisbees1770 I did cheers.

[@marinvidovic763]

Well... I have a strange feeling ... that even : declared: "*not treated pine " ... in fact is lightly treated I pick up lots of stuff like that for my workshop wood heater - for free ... BUT A smell of the smoke is realy strange ... with heavy chemical note ... ... and wood has a bit of Green spots and dots and lines if exposed to the rain or outside conditions. It looks totally normal and untreated (* treated timber is green or blue painted) ... but... still I am recenly becomin suspicious ...

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

You are probably right to be suspicious and you can certainly stay away from this kind of wood if you want.. Still, I have been using scrap wood with my bees for years and it seems fine. Thank you for watching.

[@marinvidovic763]

@@bruceandhisbees1770 I am currently trying to master Beeboxes creation from those Building site offcuts... and ...thinking - MAYBE A Good coat of parafine or wax will insulate interiror from bees anyway... and there will be no real conection...there ... I was even thinking ... clay coating inside. . . Like in old Hives... ...those skeps...

[@mikef9966]

i hate changing blades,thats why i have more than 1 tablesaw

[@The_Joker_]

Use a router table instead of a dado

[@t_4178]

risking fingers 600 times to save $37

[@wisconsinfishingwithjimmyj5219]

3/8 THs lol looked more like 3/4 to me

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

You may be right 🙄

[@ricshaw805]

Free if you have a table saw…

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Ricshaw, I got my table saw used for pretty cheap but before that, I used a homemade table saw made out of plywood with a Skilsaw mounted upside down 😎

[@corybuckles8492]

I want to like this guy for talking about the importance of shop safety, but holy crap does he not practice it... I mean, kudos on unplugging the saw and not wearing gloves, but he needs to learn how to use that saw better, or that ten-digit brag isn't going to age well. First, and most obviously, put on some ear protection, dude. Second, never crosscut on a table saw in a way that leaves the workpiece pinched between the blade and the fence or, in this case, a stop block. Use a stop block that is fixed in place near the front of the table and doesn't stay against the work piece as it moves forward into the blade. Better yet, just use that miter saw you can clearly see behind you that is actually designed for crosscutting. Third, making dados on the board ends freehand like that is absolutely nuts. There isn't enough surface area on the end of the board to maintain decent contact with the table to begin with, and half of that is getting cut away. You also have to put your hands way too close to the blade while applying significant force directly toward the cut. If you're going to do this step with a dado blade in a table saw, you need to clamp the work piece to a tenon jig. They're super simple to make, and make it both safer and easier. A router table with a featherboard is another option. Lastly, and by far most importantly: When ripping on a table saw, no part of your body should EVER be in the space directly between the blade and the fence like he has his @19:14. This is the number one way people lose fingers on these machines. People don't understand that the biggest danger with table saws isn't the saw kicking the board straight backwards. Rather, it's when the saw starts to lift the board with the teeth coming up out of the table at the far side of the cut. In a fraction of a second, the board lifts up, begins riding on top of the blade, and gets yanked hard away from the fence. The hand that just seemed a safe distance away gets pulled straight toward the spinning blade while the board goes flying, leaving nothing between hand meat and carbide teeth but air and way too little time for a human to react. USE PUSH STICKS! Also, put the riving knife back on the saw! You can clearly see that the factory insert plate has a much longer slot behind the blade than it does in front, which is specifically to accommodate a riving knife. The over-topping kickback is exactly what the riving knife is there to combat, and it was the single most important safety feature that got added to table saws until the SawStop was created. I know it's a pain in the butt when you're switching that dado stack in and out so much, but it's there for a reason.