# Resawing lumber for supers



## WCMN (Jan 29, 2008)

Has anybody tried using 2"x8" for supers by resawing them into 1"x8"? Around our area at the big box stores you can buy 2"x for the same price as 1"x if not less. I realize you will lose about .060" with the saw cut on the bandsaw which will give closer to 11/16" thickness. Do you think that will matter a whole lot? By doing this you can cut the cost in half for your supers and hive bodies. Any thoughts on doing this?------------Randy


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## BenC (Mar 18, 2007)

WCMN said:


> at the big box stores you can buy 2"x for the same price as 1"x if not less... By doing this you can cut the cost in half for your supers and hive bodies. Any thoughts on doing this?------------Randy


It just doesn't make sense to me- Wear &tear on the bandsaw and blade, electricity is burned, and time is spent. I buy 1x's or plywood or get scrap materials from construction sites to make my equipment. Just some thoughts.


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

you must own one of those thin kerf band saws?

as long as when you build the equipment (boxes) you maintain the measurements on the inside of the box this should make little difference. the outside dimensions of the box shouldn't matter (all kinds of thickness of meterial has been used in building bee boxes over the years) but the internal dimension and 'bee space' have pretty much remained constant.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*2Xs*

The 2X lumber is not necessarily good species for box shook. Pine is preferred. Fir will split rot & shrink.


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Randy
I could probably find a fella in your area with a resaw that can take a whole stack of 2x down for you in just a few minutes.... I don't think it is a bad idea. I also think that spruce or fir is fine for hive bodies. You may want to forgo the box store and find a local building supply/lumber store.... The 2xs will probabaly be cheaper there.


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## MapMan (May 24, 2007)

WCMN said:


> Has anybody tried using 2"x8" for supers by resawing them into 1"x8"? Around our area at the big box stores you can buy 2"x for the same price as 1"x if not less. I realize you will lose about .060" with the saw cut on the bandsaw which will give closer to 11/16" thickness. Do you think that will matter a whole lot? By doing this you can cut the cost in half for your supers and hive bodies. Any thoughts on doing this?------------Randy


I'd avoid the Big Box stores, and go directly to a sawmill near you. Resawing is not in your best interest for time and money, as lumber cut for construction width is cut that way for a reason. 

Call a sawmill, and get prices - ask for #2 or #3 pine, specify no loose knots. You're going to paint them anyway, don't need best grades... Tell them what you need the lumber for, as they might have odds and ends just gathering sawdust that they will sell cheaply. Also, they might have a great price on "shorts", which are boards from shorter logs - not meeting requirements of 8 feet or longer. You're going to cut them down for box sides anyway, so you don't need the length. Just doing a search near Alexandria Mn, there are 2-3 sawmills relatively close by:

Berkness Sawmills
15406 280th St
Eagle Bend, MN 56446
(320) 732-2905

Mountain Lake Mills
30514 160th St
Grey Eagle, MN 56336
(320) 285-4881

Anderson Sawmills
1904 Industrial Dr
Wadena, MN 56482
(218) 631-7346


MM


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Going direct to the sawmill is a bad idea because their wood is going to be green which means it will shrink more as it drys and makes a greater risk that you spend a lot of time building boxes only to have frames not fit a few months later or the side crown and pull the box joints apart.

Anybody who wants green 1x; I will sell it to you in 1000bf lots for $350.00 picked up at my place


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## MapMan (May 24, 2007)

bluegrass said:


> Going direct to the sawmill is a bad idea because their wood is going to be green which means it will shrink more as it drys and makes a greater risk that you spend a lot of time building boxes only to have frames not fit a few months later or the side crown and pull the box joints apart.



Not necessarily. Many sawmills either air dry or kiln dry their lumber. If you chose to buy green that is certainly an option - pine only takes a few months to dry if stacked properly to avoid warping, twisting, checking, etc.

The OP inquired about a cheaper way to acquire raw materials to produce his own boxes - I just provided another option. 2 x construction material is only 1.5" wide - if you resaw, you certainly won't ever get 3/4" wide stock, taking into account even the thinnest kerf band saw blade. Add to that the tendency of the blade to not track properly and wander, and you usually have to surface plane one side, thereby further reducing width. You'll end up with a bunch of non-standard boxes. 

Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 

MM


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## Docking (Mar 13, 2008)

I think the sawmill idea would be your best bet. As for the green part, all wood was green at one point in time. It just depends what is more important, time or money. I am building some of my nucs out of skids we get our sheet metal on. It is a bit thick ( 2 1/2 inches oak) and heavy but works great on nucs that are not so large. Plus they will last a long time if painted.


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

I have my own personal saw mill. It's a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 with a 23hp Briggs v-twin. It will mill a log up to 31" in diameter and 12' long. I don't do much re-sawing of structural lumber because I have access to a lot of free logs (especially since Ike). I have found that if I properly sticker and stack the lumber and allow it to air dry for a couple of months I don't have much problem with warpage. It stays pretty humid in my area and I have found that if I use lumber that is too dry I can have just as much warping as when its too green. The key is to allow it to dry for a couple of months in the environment in which it will reside when used. If I plan to use it inside the house, I bring it in and let it sit for a couple of months before building anything with it. I just built my sister new cabinets in her kitchen using quarter sawn oak. They really turned out nice. I use anything I can get my hands on to make bee boxes (oak, pine, sweetgum, elm, cyprus, etc.). So far they have held up well as long as I air dry the boards for a couple of months before use.


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## Shastina Millwork (Jun 21, 2007)

*Resawing lumber, moisture content, etc.*

I have been in the lumber business for over 15 years, and now manufacture hive bodies (to the tune of about 12,000 boxes per month). 
After quickly reading thru the reply posts, I thought it was necessary to give my input. Lumber drying: it is possible to air dry lumber; however, when it is ponderosa pine (west coast), it is better to kiln dry it because the kiln "sets the pitch", otherwise, the boards will continuously bleed pitch. Some beekeepers say the bees dont like it, others say the more pitch in the board, the longer it lasts.....well, I dont have an answer for that, but pitch can be a nuissance. RE: RESAWING LUMBER: For "dried" or un-dried lumber of any species, resawing gives the most risk of cupping, bending, warping, etc. of a piece of wood. YES, it depends on grain pattern, old growth (if there is any left), and cell patterns, but I have never had much luck resawing without creating problems. RE: Moisture Content (MC): All wood species contain MC after drying (kiln dried or Air dried). Eastern hardwoods is usually 8% or less. Eastern pine is usually 10% or less and western pine commons is approx.12%. Western "shop grade" pine is 10% or less. Any western soft wood species (not including shop grade) that is thicker than 4/4 (planed to 3/4") ranges from 15-18%. The few things I can tell everyone (if you have continued to read this far) is that #1, eastern white pine is more brittle and tends to fuzz up when it is cross cut even though it is Kiln Dried. and #2, any western pine we cut that has a moisture content OVER 12% fuzzs up when we cut it. FUZZING UP means that it looks like the wood was cut with a very dull blade, even if it is razor sharp. HOPE THIS HELPS!


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>Has anybody tried using 2"x8" for supers by resawing them into 1"x8"? 

Yup, done that, bought sawed 2x8 rough cut, had him saw them in 1 inch boards, brought them home to plane them down to 7/8, and off to the races.

Few things to consider when using fresh cut wood or air dried,
make sure you have a good planer, industrial, otherwise you will not be working with uniformaty in your cuts and your boxes will be off, soo much so you wish youd bought your boxes new.
also when cutting your boxes to size, instead of cutting to 9 and 9/16, cut to 9 and 3/4. your wood will shrink that much. Believe me you dont want a bunch of short boxes, otherwise youd might as well bought the 10 inch planed boards at the lumber yard.


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

Shastina Millwork said:


> I have been in the lumber business for over 15 years, and now manufacture hive bodies (to the tune of about 12,000 boxes per month).
> After quickly reading thru the reply posts, I thought it was necessary to give my input. Lumber drying: it is possible to air dry lumber; however, when it is ponderosa pine (west coast), it is better to kiln dry it because the kiln "sets the pitch", otherwise, the boards will continuously bleed pitch. Some beekeepers say the bees dont like it, others say the more pitch in the board, the longer it lasts.....well, I dont have an answer for that, but pitch can be a nuissance. RE: RESAWING LUMBER: For "dried" or un-dried lumber of any species, resawing gives the most risk of cupping, bending, warping, etc. of a piece of wood. YES, it depends on grain pattern, old growth (if there is any left), and cell patterns, but I have never had much luck resawing without creating problems. RE: Moisture Content (MC): All wood species contain MC after drying (kiln dried or Air dried). Eastern hardwoods is usually 8% or less. Eastern pine is usually 10% or less and western pine commons is approx.12%. Western "shop grade" pine is 10% or less. Any western soft wood species (not including shop grade) that is thicker than 4/4 (planed to 3/4") ranges from 15-18%. The few things I can tell everyone (if you have continued to read this far) is that #1, eastern white pine is more brittle and tends to fuzz up when it is cross cut even though it is Kiln Dried. and #2, any western pine we cut that has a moisture content OVER 12% fuzzs up when we cut it. FUZZING UP means that it looks like the wood was cut with a very dull blade, even if it is razor sharp. HOPE THIS HELPS!


I can second your comments on resawing, my experience has been similar. Most the pine in my area is SYP, it does have a fair bit of pitch and kiln drying does set it if it is bothersome. So far, I have not noticed that my bees really care if the pitch is set or not. It may have something to do with the fact that SYP pitch is a major component in their propolis in this area so they are pretty used to having it in the hive.


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## WCMN (Jan 29, 2008)

Thanks everone for all the idea's and reasoning's. In my line of work we would resaw Sitka Spruce in to boards out of full 2". The moisture content was between 8 -12 % and left a some what fuzzy feeling finish. I have not stuck a meter in to construction lumber 2x to see what % there dried too. After keeping a eye out for 1x on sale I see in our area there running .69/foot for 1x12. I will check a couple of local saw mills to see what they have. Wonder why long ago the bee equipment manufactures never switched to a standard size boards and adjust the frames depth to fit? I could see were this would lead to problems now with a bunch of mismatched equipment and I suppose it would of cause the same problems long ago.--------Randy


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

> Wonder why long ago the bee equipment manufactures never switched to a standard size boards and adjust the frames depth to fit?


Just a guess on my part but I think the standards for bee equpt were set when a 1"x10" board was 9 3/4" wide before the industry "shrunk" the size to 9 1/4"

I too watch the sales and buy when I can get a 1"x12"x6` for 5 bux or less then go sort through 50 boards to get 10 that I will take home


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## MapMan (May 24, 2007)

Shastina Millwork said:


> Lumber drying: it is possible to air dry lumber; however, when it is ponderosa pine (west coast), it is better to kiln dry it because the kiln "sets the pitch", otherwise, the boards will continuously bleed pitch. ... Eastern hardwoods is usually 8% or less. Eastern pine is usually 10% or less and western pine commons is approx.12%. Western "shop grade" pine is 10% or less. Any western soft wood species (not including shop grade) that is thicker than 4/4 (planed to 3/4") ranges from 15-18%. The few things I can tell everyone (if you have continued to read this far) is that #1, eastern white pine is more brittle and tends to fuzz up when it is cross cut even though it is Kiln Dried.


Here in Wisconsin and Minnesota we're dealing with primarily white pine, where sap pockets are minimal, and if prevalent on a particular log are mostly around knots. I haven't had any problems with fuzz on white pine - I do get fuzzing on poplar, which I correct by reversing it through the planer, as I most likely was working against the grain. Chipping around knots does occur. 

In the summer with higher humidity, when air drying the lumber MC will stabilize around 16%. I bring the lumber into my shop to acclimate to a lower MC in winter when boxes are produced (lucky for me, I have a 1,800 sq ft heated shop, with enough space for temporary storage). When produced in the winter with a reduced moisture content in the woods, boxes will swell back up in the summer, tending to make the joints tighter.

MM


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