# cheap 1x8 pine



## WilliesHoneyCo (Jun 23, 2013)

Just bought a bundle of 10 foot 1x8 for 2 bucks a board because it was such a good price!


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

The "value wood" section at Menards can have great deals. Right now it's a bit pricey at 1.69 each for 1 x 12s about 30 inches long, but it's often cheaper if you sort through and take only the solid, flat, and straight boards. 

Also check out your local non-box store lumber yards, they often have #2 pine that is much higher quality and cheaper than the box stores, and usually has been stored INSIDE and not left out in the weather, so there is far less warpage and twist to deal with.

Bent boards make crooked boxes....

Peter


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## WilliesHoneyCo (Jun 23, 2013)

psfred said:


> The "value wood" section at Menards can have great deals. Right now it's a bit pricey at 1.69 each for 1 x 12s about 30 inches long, but it's often cheaper if you sort through and take only the solid, flat, and straight boards.
> 
> Also check out your local non-box store lumber yards, they often have #2 pine that is much higher quality and cheaper than the box stores, and usually has been stored INSIDE and not left out in the weather, so there is far less warpage and twist to deal with.
> 
> ...


The 1.69 seems cheap but if you price out what you are paying per board foot on normal boards you are not saving very much. What I was doing was buying the whole pallet of 1x12 value boards they had stored away and they would give it to me for 40 bucks. It was a good deal because most of the boards were 4 feet. I think after I calculated it out I got it for 0.18 a foot. Good price for 1x12


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Yeah, the real deals are the 69 cent boards, or a pallet. Even with the waste on the pallet you are probably doing OK. The stuff I'm getting right now is a pretty good deal, as the cut-off for making deeps can be glued to a 1x6 go make it wide enough to make shallows or mediums, and two cut-offs from making mediums will make another one. 3-4 bucks a box is pretty cheap and the wood is decent. Usually has knots near the edge to holes, but it's usually possible to make some defect free boxes out of a pile of boards.

I also need to make quite a few slotted bottom bars for frames, and this is a good way to get wood for that. Has to be clear and straight grained.

Peter


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## WilliesHoneyCo (Jun 23, 2013)

I got tired of going to Menards to get deals because I could never get enough. So I found a guy near me that sells white pine barn wood to me for 62 cents a foot. Its good wood that will last a long time.

Peter you make your own frames? Any tips. I have tried a few ways but it seemed far too time consuming to make several thousand even with free wood.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

It's time consuming no matter what you do.

The best way I've found so far is to start with 2x10s. Get the flattest, straightest ones you can find, preferably with no knots. Small knots are OK, medium and up cost you frames.

Cut to 19" exactly and run through the planer just enough to get a good flat surface on both sides. Joint one edge fair. Set up a 1/2" dado and cut a slot in each end 1/2" from the side to the depth of your end frames. I use 3/8" end bars, so mine are a bit deeper than factory. Set up a standard blade at 8 degrees and cut the taper on the end, or if you prefer flat ends cut another dado at 3/8" leaving the step for your end bar. Do both sides, this gives you 16 or 18 frames per piece when fully cut.

Cut 1 1/16" slices for standard frames, 7/8" for narrows. This gives you a pair of top bars. Cut a shallow dado on each side to fit your end bars. Split the pairs exactly in half -- best on a band saw as it leaves them a bit thicker.

From here you can cut a single slot for comb, tapers for foundationless, or two slots for wedge style frames as it suits you. 

I find it best to accumulate a large number of top bar "blanks" and run the whole pile through so I don't have to repeat setups.

End bars are made from 2x6 "whitewood" pine -- yellow pine is too hard, and while it machines better, splits badly when nailed. Plane down to correct thickness (1 3/8" for standard bars) and cut blocks to the correct length for each frame size. Cut a dado in the top to fit your top bars (another reason to do them all at the same time, less variation), I think mine are something like 15/16. Full dado stack, since it's easy to repeat. Keep the blades clean when assembling the stack, doesn't take too much sawdust to widen the slot.

On the other end of each block cut the 5/16" slots 5/16" deep for the bottom bar. Set up to leave a saw kerf wide "divider" in between the bottom bar slots. I started using divided bars, but cutting them is a pain, and have since started using a grooved bottom bar. Once the dados are cut to depth (usually takes a couple passes for the wide one, I have a rather weak saw), slide them to 3/8" or 5/16" either on the table saw or a band saw if yours cuts straight enough. Had fits with mine, still re-manufacturing a cheap Delta clone. Once cut I drill them with a jig for cross wireing (which you can skip if you use plastic foundation) and then I cut the Hoffman taper on the jointer set to cut 1/8" on each side. Be careful with the later, they have to be hand held unless you build a jig to clamp a number down. I suppose you could joint the taper before slicing, but it makes drilling more of a pain.

Bottom bars I make by running a saw kerf 3/8" deep down each end of a flat, straight grained board cut to length (17" and something, don't remember off hand) to fit the rest of the frame. I then slice off peices a little wider than 5/16", around 3/8" and a bit. Each piece then gets a slot cut on one side almost all the way through, then I trim the "legs" on the end to 5/16" using a 3/8" dado set. Makes bottom bars a breeze to assemble. Might need to trim foundation a bit, it's always a bit too long to go in flat.

I think I get about 80 top bars out of an 8' 2x10, unless there is a lot of wastage. The center is usually dryer than the outside and the two inside pieces are sometimes to warped to use. Occasionally there is a hidden defect that causes you to toss a couple as well. Using a band saw with a thin kerf blade might get you 90, as will cutting narrow top bars for closer frame spacing. I use those in the brood nest.

I keep a lot of large cardboard boxes around, and try to cut all the blanks I need, then machine a step on all of them, then another, etc. Very repetitious, but once you have a good setup, it pays to run them all through at one pass, even if you have to split it up over a couple days.

Automated machinery would be much more efficient -- commerical top bars are cut from 3/4" planed stock, I would assume by cutting to length, one pass to cut both ends to shape, a gang saw to cut into individual bars, and a gang mill to cut the side slots. Groove and wedge are cut on another power feed machine, far quicker than doing it by hand.

Peter


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

I bought some Home Depot 1 by's to make boxes with. They warped almost before I got them home.


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## Colino (May 28, 2013)

I bought some 1x8 at Rona (1st lumber I've ever bought for my boxes) I paid $39.95 for them because they had a little weathering on the outside of the bundle, regular price was $150. There were 22, 12ft 1x8 and they were all usable so I could not resist the price. By combining the 1x8 with scavenged 1x4 and using my staggered board method,http://youtu.be/yfyGF947Rd4 I made 30, 10 frame deeps and 8, 5 frame Nucs. As a bonus each box left me with a shim about 1" wide, some of those I converted into inner covers. Instead of ripping the 1 piece of 1x4 to start like in the video, don't rip anything and start with 1x4 end pieces, then 1x8 sides, then 1x8 end pieces and 1x4 side pieces. Trim box to depth you want on table saw. It may sound complicated but I'm sure you will figure it out once you have the material in front of you. Here are some of them waiting for handles and paint. You can also see some of the shims near the end.













Colino


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Works even better with box joints! I use the "trim" from a 1x12 making deeps to widen a 1x6 piece to make either a medium or a shallow, cutting the 1x6 side down. Leaves me another strip to widen another board. If you offset the short pieces when making the boxes they interlock through the box joint, very strong and very cheap.

I like cheap.

The bees don't care if the sides aren't perfect.

Peter


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## WilliesHoneyCo (Jun 23, 2013)

Peter thanks for info about frames! I think Ill just buy them, got any for sale lol


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## Colino (May 28, 2013)

psfred said:


> I like cheap.
> 
> The bees don't care if the sides aren't perfect.
> 
> Peter


You got that right, the bees just don't care about pretty. I built a jig once for making box joints but I could never get them to work right for me and so now I'm set up for rabbet joints I don't want to change. It's the old story of trying to teach an old dog new tricks.
Colino


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