# Hive body assembly??



## Billy Joe Adair

I have about a 1000(+) hive bodies to put together. I have never put that many together at one time before. I am looking for a timely and efficient way to assembly these boxes.
Do you commercial guys assembly with a jig or just free hand it? 
If any of you use a jig, can you describe it? 
How long should it take one man from start to finish to assembly one hive body?
All the boxes have 'finger joints', if that matters.

Thanks for any help.


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## Steven Ogborn

Micheal Bush has info. about a box jig on his website. Look here. http://www.bushfarms.com/beesboxjig.htm


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## Charlie B

I built a three box jig from Michael Bush's website and it saves allot of time. Much easier to nail all three boxes at once.


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## odfrank

If Charlie wasn't such a cheapskate he would buy one like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxqYbmvz1ww&feature=related

But of course, since HabitatforHoneybees.org is a non profit organization, probably the funds for that kind of investment are spent on saving the bees, not expensive jigs.


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## Charlie B

Wow,

Now that's a nice box jig. If you're good at welding you could build one instead paying $1000!


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## acbz

Job specialization = efficiency

Put all the sides and ends in stacks and first dry-assemble a few dozen hive bodies, using a slightly modified deep hive body as a fit-up jig to hold the end pieces in place at the right width while you bump the long sides into place. Then staple them after dry assembled. Better yet, pay somebody a low wage to dry assemble while you staple, can easily do hundreds per day this way. The only limitation is your staple gun-holding arm. I can upload a pic but it's really pretty simple. 
This is much faster than assembling and stapling each box individually.


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## The Honey Householder

I had the boys put all mine together last year. My 12 year old put 80-100 together after school each day. He did over 2000. I had him nail them all by hand (skill building). Now if I can get them to do frames like I did when I was a kids.:roll eyes:


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## odfrank

The Honey Householder said:


> I had the boys put all mine together last year. My 12 year old put 80-100 together after school each day. He did over 2000. I had him nail them all by hand (skill building). Now if I can get them to do frames like I did when I was a kids.:roll eyes:


What are the child labor laws in Ohio?


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## The Honey Householder

Odfrank,
You pay for labor right. No pay here, but they do live high on the hog.


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## HarryVanderpool

I built this box press about 12 years ago. It was supposed to be a prototype and every time I use it I remind myself that I am supposed to make a final edition of it. Never happens.
I have nailed about 1800 boxes through this press and I love it.
Boxes come out PERFECTLY square and squeezes the glue out of the super tight joints.
Yes I glue my boxes. 
I have never paid attention to how fast it will go; I worry more about doing a good job.


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## Rader Sidetrack

Interesting jig, Harry. Could you explain a little bit about the metal (brackets? springs?) and the round (dowels?) on the right side of the jig?


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## HarryVanderpool

The dowells are cams that have a flat spot. You can see that there is a black line on the end that aligns with the flat spot. In the first picture the flat spot is against the ram(the board with springs holding it back and in place ) which means the press is open. .
In the second picture, the cams are rotated thereby compressing the ram forward and tightly clamping the box joints together for nailing.
Notice also, if you look carefully, there is a relief in the lower corners so that glue does not build up that is sqeezed from the joints.
If I actually ever get around to making the really nice one it will have 2, 2 x 12s. the uprights will be 4 x 6s and the braces will be 4 x 4s
I suppose I will end up making that down the line when I don't need one anymore.


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## honeyman46408

I dont do thousands but this what I built.


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## allniter

HARRY --how do you nail --or screw the bottom while in the jig --do you take box out of jig and rotate --nail top first and than bottom --thank you


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## minz

Harry, that is the most cleaver jig I have ever seen! I was trying to figure out how to do the ends so that the fingers that stick out would not hit the end and rack the box. Is there handles on the ends of the dowls or do they just stick out so that you can get a good hold on them? Maybe post a side shot so I can steal your idea. Biggest problem with building of jigs is the storing of jigs.


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## Mbeck

I like Harry's Jig, it's something I could actually build!
I'm guessing you could just staPle the corners while it's in the jig and finish stapling once it's out?


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## HarryVanderpool

I will tell you how I nail and why, but that doesn't mean you have to do it the same:
First, I glue up the finger joints with TiteBond-III, tap the box together with a hammer, slip it in the press, SQUISH!!!!!!!
Now nail the two fingers in the middle on both sides of the top.
Unclamp, flip the box over, reclamp, nail the two middle fingers on both sides of that surface.
At this point, remove box from clamp, lay it on the long side on the bench and nail the two middle fingers, flip over and repeat.
You now have two nails on each corner / side in the middle.
Instead of nailing all of the fingers on one side, I continue to nail outward from the center, two nails at a time and rotating the box on the bench until you are done.
By radially nailing, this pulls the joints even tighter like a zipper!
It may take a few more seconds; but where's the fire?
As I was growing many folks would say somthing like, "You won't be able to do it this way when you get big".
They were wrong.
Being commercial does not mean doing things any sloppy old way just to get done.
If it does, you have too many bees.

Minz you will want some kind of handle on the end of the cam dowel. Remember; mine is a prototype. I still just clamp Vice-Grips on one end.


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## Mbeck

Vice grips are "some sort of handle"!
Thanks for sharing.


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## Keith Jarrett

HarryVanderpool said:


> Being commercial does not mean doing things any sloppy old way just to get done.
> If it does, you have too many bees.


Just wanted too make sure everybody saw this small senseless quote.


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## MES613

Harry: Other than an improved handle, what other modifications will you make to your "prototype" when/if you get around to building version 1.2? Thanks for the post. Very helpful. -Mark


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## HarryVanderpool

Keith Jarrett said:


> Just wanted too make sure everybody saw this small senseless quote.


Oh No!!!!! What was I thinking?
Well, guess I'll never fit in now......


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## HarryVanderpool

Version 1.2 begins with two 2 x 12 clear boards laying 3.5" apart.
Then there are two 4 x 6 uprights nailed in place similar to where the 4 x 4s are in the picture.
They are sandwitched inbetween the 12s
Each upright is braced with a 4 x 4 that again is slid inbetween the 12s and nailed at an angle similar to the picture.
The ram and cams remain the same but with some sort of handle.
The idea is to produce as rigid of a press as possible. But not so heavy that you have to call Keith over to move it around with his Swinger 1k.


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## Keith Jarrett

HarryVanderpool said:


> Oh No!!!!! What was I thinking?
> Well, guess I'll never fit in now......


There's plenty of room under the bus Harry.


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## HarryVanderpool

Another thing "they" used to tell me when I was getting started:
"The bees don't care what the boxes look like".
Well guess what? I do.
And so do my growers.
Our hives are rented all year long from February until September, and every year I get compliments for sharp, uniform equipment.
Dumpy, pethy, dry-rotted junk is not a good reflection on ones outfit.
While it probably makes no difference in pollination strength, my growers compliment my hive appearance almost every year.
That can't be bad.










Nothing like a little fire to cleanse one's soal from time to time.


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## Charlie B

Ollie? Are you listening to Harry?, Ollie, you there?


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## BEES4U

Just my $0.02
Here's another jig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQrVspB6b0w


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## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Ollie? Are you listening to Harry?, Ollie, you there?


I know, that burn pile picture brought tears to my eyes. I could have gotten twenty more years out of those boxes.


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## Honey-4-All

Like a lot of other issues in beekeeping when it comes to equipment *the biggest factor is always the budget*. After 20 years of borrowing a neighbors jig and having assembled over 5000 boxes on it we decide to splurge and get our own. If you are going to assemble a few boxes go cheap like on the previously recommended videos or jigs. Since I figured we would assemble another 20k boxes over the next twenty years I decided to splurge. We bought one of the ones sold by the guys in SD at
Hivebodies.com 

See the item at http://www.hivebodies.com/fixture.html. 

See the video at http://www.hivebodies.com/fixture video.html. 


*Our Box assembler loves the thing*. The fixture as well as the stand could use a couple of refinements in order to enhance it ergonomically. An adjustable brake position at foot level ( as opposed to being welded in place) would make it nicer for a left or right foot dominate person. Brake also needs a better "grip" pad. 

Over all I would give it a A-. Price wise its a little steep but when divided over 20,000 boxes *its only a handful of pennies a box for increased speed and ease of build*. would I buy another one? For sure. :thumbsup:

The only thing I can say is that if you buy one don't copy the guy doing the demo in the video. If you pay close attention you will notice he staples 5 sides of the Box during the demo. :scratch:Both sides at that.:scratch::scratch: All the supers we put together have 4 sides.


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## Ian

honeyman46408 said:


> I dont do thousands but this what I built.


Honeyman46408 thats crazy enough that it looks like it would work real fast
going to build one, right now!

can you show a few more pics,


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## KevinR

I built mine after a video on you tube. similar to the one that hivebodies.com sells for a grand. wonder how much they would really sell for.


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## davidsbees

This assembly jig has seen thousands of supers over 15 years, between us and the dozens of beekeepers that have borrowed it. I currently have a air powered one.
David
beebotanical.com


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## Ian

davidsbees said:


> View attachment 3706
> View attachment 3707
> View attachment 3708
> 
> This assembly jig has seen thousands of supers over 15 years, between us and the dozens of beekeepers that have borrowed it. I currently have a air powered one.
> David
> beebotanical.com


boy, that looks like a good jig David, simple and looks like easy to use. Nice!
patent pending?


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## jean-marc

Honey-4-All:

Other than the five sided stapling I insist on making sure the air hose is connected to the air gun.

Jean-Marc


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## davidsbees

this is my air powered super sqeez I have a regulator for the nailer and it has 3 legs so it won't rock. I think I need to paint before it starts to rust.


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## Rader Sidetrack

davidsbees said:


> this is my air powered super sqeez ....


Looks Good!

And with just a different "_head_" attachment you can use it as a woodsplitter during the off season.


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## minz

Does this look familiar?
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n599/6minz/Jig2.jpg
I used quick grip clamps rather than the dowels. I plain my own wood so my thickness is not always as uniform (or as thin) as the store bought ones. I usually use two clamps for my press but my fingers are a little tight so I use 3 and sometimes hit them with a hammer. I shoot two or three screws into each corner from the top, flip it and do it again.


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## Soapstone

HarryVanderpool said:


> Now nail the two fingers in the middle on both sides of the top.
> Unclamp, flip the box over, reclamp, nail the two middle fingers on both sides of that surface.


Harry,

Why do you not complete the nailing of the exposed joints while the box is in the jig rather than just driving the two nails in each side? It seems this would ensure that the box is not knocked out of square while finishing the nailing, as well as speeding up the process. I see no disadvantage to this unless the jig is not pressing the vertical pieces flat against the horizontal pieces at their joints. Your procedure seems to imply that the joints are only forced tight in the middle. If this is the case, couldn't the pressure plates be widened a little to keep the joints tight for their entire widths?

I use a technique similar to what you described for nailing the boxes after removal from the jig, rotating the box while driving the nails to keep the joint tight. It produces excellent results (at least with dovetailed boxes), but is a little time consuming. Without a jig I also have to test the box for squareness, and usually make adjustments. This whole process takes about five minutes per box. I am hoping that a jig such as yours would allow me to eliminate these time consuming steps.

I can see why you put the relief notches in the base to avoid glue buildup, but doesn't this also make nailing down on the vertical pieces less solid?

Thanks


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## Ian

I second Harry on the glue ! Use glue . . .


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## Ian

Soapstone said:


> Harry,
> 
> Why do you not complete the nailing of the exposed joints while the box is in the jig rather than just driving the two nails in each side?


you can hand the box off to your helper to finish nailing as another box can get started
once that box is started square, it will stay square


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## Mtn. Bee

I am with odfrank, Harry's burn pile made me cry! I was getting ready to help by driving the bee truck to Harry's for some spring cleaning! 
Harry what type of banding do you use around your hive boxes? Looks like that fiber/poly stuff tied in knots but can't tell in the pics?
I use glue and staples on my equipment as well! 
And hopefully Keith don't throw you under that bus too hard and runs the other way!


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## Ian

I dont know about the perfect looking boxes. If thats what the operator wants, thats his business and thats great. 
But anyone who looks at a bee yard who actually know about bees knows bees dont paint their boxes 
I know the best of operators who has boxes looking a bit grubby.


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## Soapstone

Ian said:


> you can hand the box off to your helper to finish nailing as another box can get started
> once that box is started square, it will stay square


But if you are working alone...


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