366 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



A HOME 



MADE SAW MANDREL AND 

 TABLE. 



sjpJjDITOR GLEANINGS:— As many of y< 

 Srtfll ers are of a mechanical turn of mine 



your read- 

 mind, and de- 

 light in operations of that character, I am 

 tempted to send you a description of a simple at- 

 tachment to foot-turning lathes, which I have found 

 to be very effectual and convenient for sawing lum- 

 ber. I think it will also further commend itself, es- 

 pecially to the boys, in the fact that it is very easily 

 made. It consists of a saw mandrel and table con- 

 structed as follows: 



BUZZ SAW ATTACHMENT FOR ANY TURNING LATHE. 



The shaft is turned out of a hard-wood stick 10 or 

 12 inches in length, and about 1J4 inches in diame- 

 ter, enlarged at the shoulder to 2 inches, and fin- 

 ished on the end, close to the shoulder, at an exact 

 size to fit the saw. From an eighth of an inch from 

 the shoulder the spindle must be turned a little 

 smaller to fit a nut smaller than the hole in the saw. 

 This is to allow the saw to slip on over the threads 

 of the screw. A narrow longitudinal mortise is 

 made through the spindle, a little longer than the 

 nut is thick. Now slip the nut over the spindle 

 tightly, and into the projecting end of the mortise 

 pour melted type or babbitt metal. Have this al- 

 most or quite red hot so it will fill perfectly. You 

 can now unscrew the nut, and a perfect thread will 

 be found on both sides of the spindle. Now put on 

 your saw and an even leather washer, screwed up 

 tightly with the nut, and it will run like a top when 

 put back in its original position in the lathe. 



On the wall, back of the lathe, screw a cleat of 

 inch stuff, and on this hinge the table, which must 

 be of the right length to reach over the saw, and 

 rest on the front of the lathe-bed on the legs provi- 

 ded for that purpose. A groove is cut on the under 

 side to allow the table to come as closely to the saw- 

 shaft as possible. Get the saw in motion and lower 

 the table on it. Cut away the legs of the table and 

 deepen the groove until it is solid and as low down 

 as you can have it. When not in use, a button holds 

 it in position against the wall. 



A good 6 or 8 inch saw fixed in this way, with a 

 heavy fly wheel, will saw inch stuff very readily and 

 true. Fifteen seconds of time will set it running in 

 your lathe, and ten seconds will be long enough to 

 put it all up out of way. G. A. R. 



Sharon Center, O., July 8, 1880. 



Many thanks, friend R. Your off-hand 

 home-made saw arbor not only is ingenious, 

 but I think will be warmly welcomed by our 

 readers, as a thing of real, practical utility. 

 The ingenious plan of getting it quickly out 

 of the way is something I especially admire. 

 One great objection to combination ma- 

 chines is the time it takes to "rig" and "un- 

 rig" them. We can surely be satisfied with 

 "10 seconds" time. Such an arrangement, 

 of course, would be most suitable for a cut 

 off saw, or for ripping boards cut into short 

 lengths ; but, for that matter, any buzz saw 

 to be run by a lathe, must be necessarily so, 

 to a great extent. I have, in years past, 

 made whole bee hives, — patent American 

 hives at that — at a pretty good "jog," on 

 just about such a machine. I had a great 

 appetite for my dinner too, when dinner 

 time came. 



A NEW SCHOLAR'S TKOITBLES. 



flRIEND ROOT: -I feel like writing to you as 

 though I was personally acquainted with you. 

 I sent about 4 weeks since for the A B C of 

 Bee Culture, knd have been perusiug it pretty faith- 

 fully ever since, but must confess I am nearly as 

 much in the dark as over, as to the management of 

 bees. I purchased me 2 hives last fall, for $17.00. 

 About the middle of June, they swarmed, not ten 

 minutes apart, and were hived as I thought all right. 

 One of them was a very large swarm, but I lost 

 them both. That hurt pretty bad; not that I am a 

 stingy man, I am too much the other way, so they 

 tell me, but I am a great lover of bees. I am so anx- 

 ious to learn how to manage them, and now I am 

 put to my wit's end to know what is wrong with 

 them. The strongest colony have been lugging one 

 another out for a week or ten days past. One bee 

 will pull another out of the hive and get out on the 

 alighting board, and he will hold on with "might and 

 main," and the stronger one will pull and tug at the 

 other until he gets him loose, and away he sails off 

 with him. If I only knew how to stop it! I am 

 thinking they are young bees which are being car- 

 ried off, but what they mean I can't tell. 1 don't 

 see anything in your book about that kind of work 

 or remedy for it. I often think, if you were not so 

 far away, I would be most happy to come and see 

 your beautiful bee-home, I imagine that it would be 

 a great treat to me; in fact, I know it would. I 

 very seldom write for I make so many mistakes. I 

 am getting pretty well advanced in years; if I live 

 until the latter part of next month, I will be 65. 



Thomas J. Richards. 

 Union Grove, Page Co., la., July 5, 1880. 

 Thanks, friend R. The ABC will give 

 you the best directions I know of for pre- 

 venting new swarms from absconding. I 

 fear you have not movable frame hives, or 

 at least, if you have, you do not use them ; 

 but it would seem you should have them for 

 that price. The bees that you saw lugged 

 off were imperfect or deformed ones, and 

 their comrades carried them off in spite of 

 their "scratching gravel," and trying to hold 

 on to the alighting board, because they 

 would probably be of no use in gathering the 

 honey or taking care of the young. The 

 economy of the hive does not allow any mer- 

 cy or consideration for misfortunes, and 



