Y2 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



come acquainted with the honey pro- 

 ducers of New England, and gave 

 many interesting facts in regard to 

 the best methods of putting up honey 

 for market. 



On motion of Dr. Bond, a hearty 

 vote of thanks was given Mr. Ripley 

 for his pleasant and interesting paper. 

 He was also made an honorary mem- 

 ber of the Association. 



Voted, to give those ladies present 

 who were interested in producing 

 honey, the privilege of becoming 

 members of this Association without 

 paying the usual fee. Several ladies 

 gave their names and became members. 



The topic, " The best way to build 

 up weak colonies," was taken up. 



G. S. Brown : I have not been suc- 

 cessful in doubling weak colonies in 

 spring. I liave found it better to take 

 a comb of brood from a strong colony 

 and give it to a weak one. 



H. B. Isham : I prefer to let the 

 strong ones alone and take from the 

 weak ones. 



Edson Smith : I take two medium 

 colonies and feed them, and then take 

 brood from these to help every weak 

 colony. Other members seemed to 

 prefer doubling weak colonies. 



Topic : "How far apart should large 

 apiaries be located V" 



J. D. Brooks said he had lined bees 

 for 5 miles, yet he lost many of his 

 bees in crossing Lake Ciiamplain ; his 

 apiary being located on the east shore, 

 and the distance across being about Ji 

 of a mile. 



President Leonard thought large 

 apiaries should be located at least 4 

 miles apart. 



Topic : "Which is best, a hive with 

 dead-air space, or one packed with 

 chaff i"' 



Various views were expressed ; the 

 President thought the chaff-packed 

 hives best. 



Topic : " What foundation machine 

 is best for working up wax ?" 



H. B. Isham thought the Given 

 press was the best ; had used, the past 

 season, foundation made on Vander- 

 vort, VanDeusen, and Dunham mills. 

 He governed the thickness of the 

 foundation by dipping. 



B. H. Holmes asked if the wax 

 sheets were not thicker on one side 

 than the other, when dipped but once? 



E. L. Moody : I dip three times for 

 heavy foundation. 



Mr. Beech asked if the foundation 

 was as good after it had been made 

 some time V 



J. I. Clarke : When honey is coming 

 in fast, I think it makes no difference. 



H. B. Isham : The age of the wax 

 does not make as much difference as 

 the quality. 



J. II. Mead asked what conditions 

 would injure comb foundation 'i 



Dr. Bond thought it should be kept 

 from the air. Others said it should 

 be kept in a dry place. 



The last topic taken up : " "What 

 advantage have the Cyprian race of 

 bees over other races V 



Mr. Isham thought their strongest 

 points were their stings. This seemed 

 to be tiie experience of all who tiad had 

 anything to do with them. 



The Association then adjourned till 

 the second Thursday in .Ian., 1S85. 



The attendance was good, about 40 

 persons being present. Some Hue sec- 

 tions of iioney were on exhibition, also 

 samples of Given foundation and some 

 one-piece sections. 



J. E. Crane, Sec. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Circular Saws for Hive Making- 



TV. D. WRIGHT. 



In the Bee Journal, page 26, Xo. 

 2, Mr. F. M. Reed, of Hindsboro, 111., 

 asks for information in regard to set- 

 ting up and running circular saws. 

 As I have had one in use for a num- 

 ber of years, with which I have cut 

 out several hundreds of hives, clamps, 

 etc., perhaps a discription of my ar- 

 rangement will be of benefit to him. 



I have a one-horse railway or end- 

 less chain power, standing close 

 alongside of my shop, outside, with 

 the band wheel next to and parallel 

 with the building. A \% inch steel 

 shaft 10 feet long is supported by 

 three bearings, about one foot from 

 the floor in shop, at right angles with, 

 and with one end projecting through 

 the side of the building, at a suitable 

 distance from the horse power, with a 

 pully on the outer end to receive the 

 belt from the power. On the other 

 end of the shaft is a larger pully from 

 which I run the belt to the saw. I 

 also have a 90 pound balance wheel on 

 this shaft, which serves to partly reg- 

 ulate the speed. 



My saw table stands near the cen- 

 tre of the floor that I may have plenty 

 of room to work all around it, and cut 

 up long stuff. The table is about 3 

 feet wide by 4 feet long, with the top 

 hinged at the back, so that it can be 

 raised or lowered with a hand screw 

 in front, for rabbeting, etc. For cut- 

 ting hand holes in hives or crates, set 

 the saw wabbling, raise the table until 

 the saw cuts to the proper depth, 

 then raise and lower the table with a 

 lever. 



At the right of the saw as it runs 

 towards you (and hinged to the side 

 of the table), is a slitting gauge, 

 which is set with a single thumb 

 screw. At the left of the saw, and -5 

 or 6 inches from it, is a sliding parallel 

 bar 4 or 5 inches wide, let into the 

 table, flush with the top of the same. 

 Firmly fastened at exact right angles 

 to this bar, is a cross bar, against 

 which the lumber is placed for cut- 

 ting off. To prevent this cross- bar 

 from getting racked " out of true," 

 fasten a strip across from the back 

 end of the parallel bar to the outer 

 end of the cross-bar, making a figure 

 4- On this cross-bar I have an ad- 

 justable stop (fastened at any point 

 by a thumb screw), which I use in 

 cutting off' short stuff. T also have 

 another parallel bar, Sor 10 feet long, 

 with several spurs in the upper side, 

 which I use in place of the above for 

 jointing the edges of long pieces. 



My mandrel cost §7. .50, but the 

 same can now be purchased for 85.00. 

 It is % inches in diameter, and is 

 large enough for (j or Sinch saws. 



Against the side of the shop, I have 

 a cord connecting with the break on 



the power, by means of which it can 

 be quickly put on or off. With a 

 horse that understands his business, 

 I can saw one-half day without look- 

 ing to the horse at all. I also have a 

 break on the large pully on the shaft, 

 regulated by a treadle in front of the 

 saw table, with which I control the 

 power, when cutting off lumber, 

 which requires much less than rip- 

 ping. I can also stop the power with 

 this break if desired. 



I get my lumber dressed on both 

 sides. the thickness that I wish, at the 

 lumber yard. In cutting it up, to 

 make it more convenient to handle, I 

 cut a board in two or three pieces, of 

 proper length to cut a certain number 

 of short pieces. I then straighten 

 one edge of all of these pieces, by 

 pressing them down on the spurs in 

 the lon^ bar, so that the saw will just 

 nicely trim them. Xow we have a 

 straight edge to work from, they may 

 next be ripped to the right width, and 

 then cut up in lengths by placing 

 them against the stop on the cross- 

 bar, or they may be cut up first and 

 ripped to the proper width after- 

 wards, which I usually do with wide 

 stuff. In sawing stuff for brood 

 frames, I cut it all up in lengths first, 

 then rip up in slats. 



I once tried to cut up a lot of 2-inch 

 plank for sections, but found the 

 power insufficient for ripping stuff of 

 that thickness to advantage. No 

 doubt a two-horse power would an- 

 swer the purpose, but as it requires 

 expensive machinery to manufacture 

 the best dovetailed sections, I prefer 

 to purchase them in the flat of some 

 reliable dealer. 



After setting up your machinery to 

 suit you, if the saws run the wrong 

 way, cross one of the belts, which will 

 reverse the motion. To do good 

 work, good sharp tools must be em- 

 ployed, the saws must be well filed, 

 set and jointed. The Simons' saws 

 are the best with which I am ac- 

 quainted. I have never used the 

 hollow ground saws for cross-cutting, 

 but think they would be best for that, 

 purpose, as they require no set, and 

 cut very smoothly. They also cut 

 smoothly in ripping, but very slowly. 

 The saw that has given me the best 

 satisfaction for light ripping is 6 

 inches in diameter. No. 20 gauge, 2)^ 

 points to the inch, and just enough 

 "set" to run freely. Ilowever.this saw 

 is too thin to joint the edges of boards, 

 as it will spring if crowded much. 

 Cross-cut saws for fine work should 

 liave 5 or 6 points to the inch, No. 17 

 or 18 gauge, or if beveled, No. 18 

 gauge at centre, and No. 15 or 16 

 gauge at circumference. If preferred 

 thiey may be made tliiner than this, 

 but are more apt to spring if crowded. 



If new leather belting is used, it 

 should be well covered with castor oil, 

 and allowed 24 hours before using to 

 penetrate, else the greasiness will 

 cause it to slip. Thus treated it will 

 be much more etticient, last much 

 longer, always remain flexible, and 

 will not crack. Also if the grain side 

 is placed to the pully it will drive one- 

 third more than the flesh side, because 

 it is less porous, thus admitting less 

 air between the surfaces. 



