Archive Redwood bases

[Swampy 43]

Made up a couple of bases from Redwood.One solid base and one mesh base(no mesh on it yet)that has a white coated slide out hardie board for mite checking.Finished in linseed oil. :)

[tristan 4,362]

thats a really nice finish. however i would make your top runners wider. boxes slide off thin runners real easy. also careful not use a really slick finish.

[Swampy 43]

Ahh ok.I wasn't quite sure how wide to make them so i just went with 20mm.I thought that anything wider may just just mucky with propolis.

[Alastair 8,630]

One of the classiest looking bottoms I've seen! But - the bottom runners are right at the edge, better to move them in, say, 50 mm's, so you can get your fingers under if ever having to pick up & move a hive. Also, to me, a 100 mm wide landing strip is best, although most of the commercially available boards only have 50 mm, but it makes it harder for all those bees to land right first time on a busy summer day. Here's a pic of the boards I make, rough I admit, but the design is right, although this one the back bottom runner is a little close to the edge. Not visible in the pic, but each top runner has a spike in it, which is a nail up through the bottom and sticking out the top around 3 mm, so the spike gets a grip on the bottom of the super & stops it sliding around if you move the hive. If the hive is several supers the bees join the supers together, but they don't join the bottom super to the bottom board so spikes are useful. [URL='http://smg.photobucket.com/user/waspwing/media/bottomboard_zpsd72967b7.jpg.html'][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/waspwing/bottomboard_zpsd72967b7.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[M4tt 4,941]

That is a huge landing strip Alastair. I have not seen a runway that big before, but I definitely get your point Now I see the pics of your nucs too:)

[tristan 4,362]

if your planning shifting hives, with alastairs base i would move the rear bottom runner in more. that way you have somewhere you can grip on the back of the hive.

[Swampy 43]

Ok,thanks guys.Alastair,that spike idea is great I will steal that and move my bottom runners in more next time. I like the Redwood because its probably the best outdoor wood I have come across .You dont even need to apply any finish to it,it just goes silver and stays stable for ever.Pretty much rot resistant unless its in the ground.

[Pbee 1,256]

[quote name='Swampy']Made up a couple of bases from Redwood.One solid base and one mesh base(no mesh on it yet)that has a white coated slide out hardie board for mite checking.Finished in linseed oil. :)[/quote] I 'really' like your bottom boards! Really! Redwood - as in Totara? Just bare in mind - if you 'ever' get AFB, you have to burn the lot. I made ALL my own gear and had to burn it all! Started again from new!!! ...AND IT HURTS burning all your nice craftsmanship!:eek:

[Swampy 43]

Hell,never thought of that.I was gunna make some boxes up with redwood too but I may just stick with pine for now.

[M4tt 4,941]

Or is that Californian Redwood? I have one I planted growing in the wrong place. Could be turned into something useful

[Swampy 43]

[quote name='M4tt']Or is that Californian Redwood? I have one I planted growing in the wrong place. Could be turned into something useful[/quote] The Redwood is of unknown origin.Was originally pellets from a mates work.Unfortunately it has all dried up but I still have a lot stored in the shed.I have a bar leaner out on the back lawn that has been uncovered for 10 years that still looks like new.It weathers really well.

[Pbee 1,256]

Keep you 'redwood' for saleable furniture. (y)

[dansar 5,524]

Ok so the red wood is from a pallet it is an indonesian hard wood there are a few species to choose from but they all look good as funiture or as hive floors. They can be a bit splintery if left out in the open unprotected. These look really nice. I have a few pallets at work that are of similar timber and have thought of making floors as well. Nice job swampy(y)

[tristan 4,362]

if its indonesian hard wood that i;ve come across in pallets etc then its very heavy. would not want a hive made from that just because of the weight.

[Aquila 612]

Wrong grain pattern for Californian redwood and Californian redwood is very light (weight wise). Also Californian redwood, dry and lightly sanded will give you lots of little pinprick splinters (like stinging nettle) Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Swampy 43]

[quote name='Aquila']Wrong grain pattern for Californian redwood and Californian redwood is very light (weight wise). Also Californian redwood, dry and lightly sanded will give you lots of little pinprick splinters (like stinging nettle) Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2[/quote] Yeah its definitely not Californian although I do get that splinter effect sometimes and no matter how much you sand those little splinters remain.The wood I have varies from a very dark red to a light pink and everthing in between.Can be a pain to match sometimes.

[Aquila 612]

Californian redwood has a very smooth grain pattern, not lots of lines like your bases do have. Sand with the grain, one direction only, not up and down, just down, that'll remove the splinter effect Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[dansar 5,524]

We use 38x19 pencil round corners out of indonesian hardwood for kiln drying fillets, as they get older and after 100's of cycles through kiln they splinter badly, in fact the splinters are like hyperdermic needles and the big splinters break up in to smaller splinters when you try to pull them out, had a good one go through the web of skin between thumb and index finger once, I nearly cried pulling it out:eek: Nice colour timber though

[Vincent Channon 448]

[quote name='Swampy']Yeah its definitely not Californian although I do get that splinter effect sometimes and no matter how much you sand those little splinters remain.The wood I have varies from a very dark red to a light pink and everthing in between.Can be a pain to match sometimes.[/quote] Just a thought. Could it be what is called coconut wood? It is what a lot of imported pallets and crates are made of, really hard wood and varies in colour a lot but last forever outside.

[Vincent Channon 448]

Forgot to say...REALLY flash nice looking boards BTW :)

[Swampy 43]

[quote="Vincent Channon, post: 38530, member: 985"]Just a thought. Could it be what is called coconut wood? It is what a lot of imported pallets and crates are made of, really hard wood and varies in colour a lot but last forever outside.[/quote] I actually have some of that wood,never new what it was called but google images are the same. Have had more than one experienced wood worker tell me it was Redwood probably south east Asian in origin.Also in all the years I have used it I have never once come across a knot.Its completely knot free.

[Vincent Channon 448]

[quote name='Swampy']I actually have some of that wood,never new what it was called but google images are the same. Have had more than one experienced wood worker tell me it was Redwood probably south east Asian in origin.Also in all the years I have used it I have never once come across a knot.Its completely knot free.[/quote] Nope, no knots really. Look how tall and straight Palm trees grow. Burns darn hot as well.

[Alastair 8,630]

Regarding the persistence of spores in wood, here is a paper from the Journal of Applied Microbiology: This should be borne in mind when deciding what to do even if legal. [URL='http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2672.2001.01376.x/full'][U][COLOR=#0066cc]http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...1.01376.x/full[/COLOR][/U][/URL]

[Hobbler 494]

Also bearing in mind that the chemical method will not penetrate wax or propolis.