Jason, Please in the future, use a block of wood clamped to the table saw fence as a stop to hold the wood off the fence to prevent any chance of a kick back. very dangerous cutting without it.
I have drilled many blocks like this. You have to use very dry wood. The holes must be absolutely smooth at the entrance and on the inner walls, otherwise the bees will injure their wings. The bees know this and avoid rough and damp boreholes.
Hi Jason. Great video. They make out there a bit called a Forstner bit. They are available in long lengths. That will give you an absolutely perfect he with no rough edges. Look them up. You will like
@SJForestProducts if you want to stick with this method i have one tip from making such bee homes myself: screw a thin wooden plate as a roof on top of it! it extends its lifetime by years and the bees and their breed stay somewhat dry, they can handle water or moisture to some extend but who don't like it dry?! also if you have reef or bamboo on your properties, they like those materials way more! maybe bundle reef together with wire, stuff those bundles tightly in old unused buckets (so they are safe from rain) and screw on those buckets wherever you want... if you secure the open side of the buckets with wireframe the bees will be safe from other animals and the bundels can't fall out over time... should be a very good diy solution that's cheap too, those prebuilt homes are way too expensive... and a big thank you for making such homes! nature needs every help it can get whenever we humans are around^^
The Mason bees like the holes to be super smooth with no jagged wood debris around holes and inside. Use a sharp drill bit and ream the holes out on high speed in and out fast to make holes smoother. I have even used my butane torch to burn off the whiskers. Also the correct diameter hole I have found that work well is with a 5/16” bit at around 5” and 3” deep. I also set the bee blocks in a dry sheltered area after summer is over. I enjoyed the video and your other channel Jason.
I loved the video despite lack of success. Would be cool to drill a variety of local wood varieties with a few test holes next year and see if it's a type of wood they like or dislike. You rock Jason!
Really encourage anyone providing best sites for solitary bees to use layered blocks that can be opened up and cleaned out each year once the bees have hatched, otherwise are inviting parasites and disease into the nest the following year. Alternatively make sure to refresh the tubes each year.
Jason, I was curious why you started out by drilling into the end grain on your big blocks? As with your chain saw, the cutting is easier perpendicular to the grain like you did on the 2x6 boards. Dry is always better, and in my estimation the sharp auger is the best bit. However, it is self feeding so you may have to stop and back it out when depth is reached. I also wondered why you were cross cutting the beam pieces on a table saw, very risky. Thanks for all of your videos, love your channel.
BEST WAY TO DRILL ALOT OF HOLES IS LIKE THE MUSHROOMS GROWERS DO. GET YERSELF AN ANGLE GRINDER AND CONVERT IT OVER TO A DRILLBIT END LIKE THEY DO FOR PLUG SPAWN BUT THE DEPTH YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MAY NOT COMBINE. GOOD LUCK JASON
To avoid attracting pests, be sure to use inserts in drilled wood blocks. You need to be able to access the cocoons when it's time to harvest in October (preferably a type of tray that you can open). And, please, avoid bamboo altogether. We want everyone to BEE successful!
I just harvested my bees from paper tubes. To my sad surprise all the tubes had tiny holes in them and were all contaminated with mites and excrement. This is my fourth year housing these bees, the second year harvesting them. Have you got any solutions?
Jason, I have extended drill bits by welding a rod onto the end, line the bit & extension rod up in a lathe, you can always grind your weld down to under the diameter of the bit. But i would come up with a vise to hold the blocks while drilling.
