Bruce, great job repurposing used pallets that would have otherwise been shredded for mulch. You are correct that as long as the inside spacing is correct the bees do not care what the box is made from. I feel that the bee industry is too commercialized with a lot of companies making money off of small town guys just trying to do their part to support the bee population.
Thanks for taking the time to make the videos Bruce. Quick question if you happen to know the answer. Can you use bee wax and apply it on the wood to preserve it and or inside as a bait with a little lemon oil to catch swarms in the nuc boxes? Thanks hope your channel grows
Hi Ohio, Sorry for the late response. It would get pretty expensive to use beeswax on the outside of the boxes as a preservative. Most people that are wax dipping their boxes to preserve them are using paraffin - this works really well. Now putting some wax inside to attract swarms does work. I use one frame of old, nasty brood comb and a little spritz of Swarm Commander. Bees love the smell.
Good cost effective way to knock out a few NUCs. My only concern especially for newbies and non tradesmen is the Severe Weather ground contact pressure treated 2x8 lumber. with the Copper, Chromium and Arsenic and other pesticides. I'll opt for the non pressure treated due to not wanting sick bees and industrial contaminants in the wax and honey. I'm not knocking the video since you did a great breakdown and tutorial, but would go with something a wee bit healthier.
I am also concerned about anything bad for the bees going into the hives. But, the US stopped using toxins in the pressure treatments in 1994. I have been making hives this way for years with no problem. I am careful about what materials the pallets were used to haul though.
Bruce, do you mind if I translate some of your videos and use on my channel? I provide the videos with the links to the original ones and to your channel as I do with Bob Binnie's, Ian Steppler's and other beekeepers' channels.
Great video Bruce! That's a good way to save some money! I've been trying to find a source of decent pallets close to me so I can use them to make medium supers.
Hi Van, Thanks for watching! Try looking at the free section on Craigslist. Otherwise you just have to ask managers of businesses. Most of them are happy to let you have some. Good luck.
Small visit from Sweden to see what you do online :) A small tip could be that you make a jig that keeps the 2 card sides still on the table while you assemble the first side with boards. otherwise, it was a very good idea to use pallets, which are free and often available in abundance, and the spillage can also be burned in the winter. Hade :)
Hi Bruce, I like your pallet wood beehives, shows good stewardship. I love the little cartoon affect.🤓 Bees will glue up any of the drafts they want to inside anyway, not worries about cracks or holes. Ty for sharing your time Bruce, Blessed Days...
Thank you DC, I am trying to improve my sound quality and editing. Pallet wood makes sense to me because I am a cheap-Charley at heart. Have a blessed day, my friend.
Hi Paul, Thanks for stopping by! First, pressure treated wood used to be processed with arsenic but they stopped this in 1993 so look for newer pallets. Next there are codes marked on the pallets. A good article to look at is: generalpallets.com/pallet-markings-and-what-they-mean/. I have been making pallet hives for a few years now with good results but do be careful and think about what was carried on the pallets. I avoid getting pallets from places that transport oils or hazardous chemicals.
I have the same router table. What about running the boards through to give them each a clean edge -like with a joiner- and then glue and clamp them together to make wide boards? You would still be left with one side that is flush which you could face inward. This way you could use the pallet wood for all four sides. The three larger pieces of the pallet can be re-sawn to make frames.
Fabulous! I have been attempting over engineering, making boards all the same thickness & jointing the edges, checking with a metal detector for metal fasteners, but your success tells me I can avoid a lot of this work. I used to use a pry bar for disassembly like you do, but following various RU-vid video I now use a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade to cut through the nails & then punch them out & this has increased the yield of good boards & reduced splits. For preservative I have good success with raw linseed oil, but that is in the uk with 30 + inches of rain per year & so may not be good for your climate. Thank you so much for sharing this super useful information & experience.
Always enjoy your DIY and in middle Florida! Just removed my first water meter swarm using a bucket head vac that I saw you explain…worked great, thanks. Im in the central part of Fla and if I ever get toward the east coast I’d like to stop in and say hi.
Nice job on this. That's how I do most of my equipment. If someone tries they really can save money. The Bee's won't mind at all. Good health and God bless 👍
Hi Houston, Good to hear from you. There is also a certain amount of satisfaction to be had from building your own stuff - anyway, the bees told me they like it 👍. God bless, my friend.
Hay looks awesome & cheap to do . But what tipe of glue do you use I know some glue can be harmful to honeybees. I read that in one of my beekeeping books but I can't find it yet .
Hi Kent, Thanks for watching. I always use Titebond III on my hive boxes. It is waterproof and holds really well. If you clean up any excess glue that goes into the box, the bees never come into contact with the glue.
I use Tall Earth, I think it is also marketed as Eco Wood preservative. You get it on Amazon as a powder you mix with water. After it is dry from dipping in Tall Earth, I paint the boxes and they last a long time.
Hi Jaden, it is hard to say. There is a custom cabinet shop in town that gives me pallets most any time I want some so I just go get some as I need them.
I make a hole with a entrance disk on the boxes that I make attached bottoms for. Most of these boxes are made without a hole and are used as supers over other five-frame boxes. I do make some five-frame bottoms as well - I have a previous video about making tops and bottoms.
Hi Wilvert, Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments. This is a great hobby but it can get expensive. It just makes sense to me to save money where I can. All the best to you, Sir.
@@bruceandhisbees1770 God bless you and all your family mister Bruce. I definitely going to try to do it. I pay $105.00 for a five frame nuc the other day
