# Trying to set up a Commercial NUC production



## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

Alright. Take it easy on me here. lol..

I'm in the middle of trying to set up a commercial type NUC production for next year. I've been doing some small scale NUC production for a while, and I'm thinking at this point it's time to expand the operation more into that area.

Now for the fun part. I'm one of those guys at the moment that has more time on his hands in the winter than money. lol.. Normal beekeeper.. 

I like to manufacture all my hives myself. This goes from the top to the bottom and the stands too. 
The worse thing to source is the wood that is needed at a reasonable deal.
I've seen threads where others have stated that they are getting their wood for .40 per board ft.
Which to me would be a god send at this point. 
So my question to those out there that are getting great deals on the wood is this.
What's your source? Seriously if I had to buy a pallet of lumber to get that price, I would right now.  There's nothing around me that has those kind of prices for the wood needed for beehives.


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## AstroZomBEE (Aug 1, 2006)

Are you making nucs for your own use or resale?

If Selling have you considered cardboard nuc boxes as an alternate to wooden? 

Aaron


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

Making to resell mostly but also to prop the production colonies in spring if needed. So i'll be overwintering as well. 

As for the cardboard nuc boxes, I can purchase wood for nearly the same cost as one of them, and don't have to worry with the weather ruining it over time so much. 

I do agree they have their place particularly if you aren't doing overwintering and making lots of spring nuc's to sell. Hmm.. Maybe time to rethink the game plan a bit..


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## Santa Caras (Aug 14, 2013)

I've bought nucs two ways. One where I ordered it from the Nuc maker and a month later I had two nucs delv'd...they're not cardboard but plastic nucs....courrogated like paper but out of plastic so they will last a long time. $10 deposit on the nuc box that I got back a month later after I returned them. the other time I bought a nuc.....I dropped off my box at the beek and two days later i picked it up. He transfered the bees from his box to mine. His (he had a lot out there) were built out of plywood. I know there are plans out there to cut 4 nucs from a single sheet of plywood.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

There is a guy with a backyard lumber mill right down the street from me.
Try to find someone like that in your area, that's where lumber at .40 per bf can be found.


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## xroads (Apr 9, 2013)

how about these?

http://www.jesterbee.com/EZ-Nuc.html


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## Knisely (Oct 26, 2013)

Type 'Fort Gay sawmill' into Google and then look at the map. I did that and there are 3-4 within what seems like a reasonable distance (an hour and a half). You'll be able to find someone who will be willing to sell you rough-sawn lumber (1" thick") boards, I'm certain. Remember, nothing on a beehive is longer than about 20", so you don't need to buy the long, expensive boards...


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## Davacoles (Jun 30, 2013)

Timing is everything... I just posted a thread on making 5 frame medium nucs from 4'x8' plywood. You can get 5 boxes from this design.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

If you're making nucs for customers to pick up, plywood would be best in my opinion. When I got my first nuc from a guy in PA, he had a $20 nuc "deposit". I ended up keeping the nuc, because it was all one piece, except for the screened inner that nailed into place. I've since made them from a 4'x8' plywood, and it's fairly easy and cheap. I'd suggest it again.

But for your other equipment, or boxes in your home yard, I've been through the same thing you have. I bought wood from Home Depot and Lowes, but the cost didn't justify building as opposed to buying. I then found a crate and pallet company that was an hour away from me that would sell me 1"x12" SYP for $0.60 /bd ft. It's what they used to make their pallets out of, and they were basically selling it to me for a small mark up of what they got it from. I tried to find their supplier, to get a pallet at a time, figuring they were probably getting it for around $0.40 /bd ft, but all they would tell me is that it was "shipped in overnight" (I contemplated camping out across the street on a day the delivery guy came in, waiting till he's done unloading, then asking where he came from . . . but figured it was too much work and I wasn't moving enough boxes for it to matter _that_ much).

That worked well for me for a while, but the quality was hit or miss. Most kiln dried, but massive knots, cracks, chips, and splits. Out of 12 boards, maybe 7 or 8 could be used to make a deep. The rest could be cut up for bottom boards, tops, ect., which wasn't bad considering the price. But still not fantastic. Bigger problem was the crate and pallet co only kept one bundle of 1"x12" boards on hand, and when they ran low, they told me they couldn't sell to me. On two occasions I took a day off work and drove down there, only to drive back empty handed.

In an attempt to get a better supply source, I ran adds on craigslist for 1"x12" pine boards, preferably 6-12' long. I had to go three or four "districts" on craigslist out before I found someone. He owned his own sawmill, and cut up all 1,000 bd ft that I wanted. Took about 4 months for it to air dry. I could have had it kiln dried, but it would have added another $0.15 /bd ft to the price, so I decided I could wait. It was rough cut wood, which means I need to get a planer, but it was only $0.50 /bd ft, and of much better quality than the stuff I was getting from the crate and pallet co (although it's white pine, not yellow, but the bees don't care and it's less wear on my tools, lol). 

As life ends up happening, I moved to a new home. New home doesn't have a workshop. Went to build one and the permit process has me slowed down. So currently I have woodworking equipment in my spare bedroom and 1,000 bd ft of wood sitting under a tarp in my back yard. Hopefully I'll get to work it sooner, rather than later.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Plywood IS the way to go in my opinion. I've made dozens using free recycled plywood scrap and the D Coates plans posted in the Build It Yourself section of Beesource: http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/5-frame-nuc-d-coates-version/

Here is the thread that sold me on them: http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?238983-Easy-5-frame-nuc-plans

If you have any contractor friends, you might find a steady supply of scrap plywood. There is always a part that can be cut from nearly any size piece of scrap. A table saw. of course, is invaluable here. If you are not buying plywood, your cost is in glue and staples, and your time.
I use these boxes as nucs, as swarm traps, to move frames from one hive to another or one yard to another, to set frames in while inspecting hives and as a bench out in the bee yard. There are always some unused nucs in the bee yard or my truck. I'll be making more this winter.


Wayne


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## Moon (May 7, 2011)

As others have said try to source out a local lumber mill. I by wood by the bunk and it comes in at around .40 pbf, sometimes a little less. Unfortunately all the lumber I can get at that price is green and I have to store it and strap it down for several months before it is useable but it still beats trying to buy from a box/chain store and make it economically viable.


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