154 



GLEAJN^INGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



BEVELING PLATFOKM. 



This piece A is to rest directly on tiie top 

 of ttie parallel bar of j'oiir saw table. Wiien 

 you get it adjusted so that the thin edge B 

 fits dosehj to the table, screw it fast to the 

 bar. This allows the piece to be adjusted 

 upon any spot on the table, and gives us a 

 square mitre to any stuff that may be laid 

 on it while it is being sawed. Adjust the 

 whole at the right distance from the saw, 

 and then take off the corner of all the 

 boards, on the opposite side from which we 

 sawed the groove, as shown at the bottom 

 of C, in the figure on the preceding page. 

 Now remove the beveling platform, and you 

 are ready to cut up the boards. We have 

 all this time been using the rip saw; we 

 will now change and put on the cut off. 



I think we would better ''oil up," at about 

 this stage of proceeding. I do not know 

 why it is, but I scarcely ever take hold of a 

 foot power saw when it woidd not be great- 

 ly improved by giving it a thorough oiling. 

 It is really a saving of time, as well as of 

 strength, to oil your machinery often. 

 Mucli time is also saved, in changing saws, 

 by having your saws and wrench close at 

 hand. The 15c. screw driver, illustrated 

 last month, exactly fits Barnes' saw man- 

 drel, and we keep one tied, by a stout cord, 

 to the frame of the machine, that it may be 

 always in readiness. To be obliged to stop 

 your work, and hunt for tools when you are 

 in a hurry, is "awful." You would better 

 fix some kind of a drawer in your saw table, 

 to ke3p your saws, or they may get down 

 among the rubbishy and be lost. I Iwre 

 kn')wn people to lose tlieir cut off saw, and 

 be obliged to stop and hunt for it ; and I 

 should not be surprised, if they scolded some- 

 body who was not to blame at all. I have 

 spoken of having one of the children help 

 by handing you the boards, &c.; if they do, 

 be sure that you make the work pleasant 

 for tlieai. If you lose your tools and scold, 

 you certainly will not make good hives. 



You )>robably have not made any mis- 

 tai:es, tlius far; but now, before you com- 

 mence cutting off the pieces to the exact 

 size, be careful. As you will need a pair of 

 iron iVaines for i)utting your hives together, 

 I think you liad better have them on hand 

 now, to take your measurements by. if you 

 attempt to measure with a square, you will 



get it wrong side up or something, and get 

 yoiir gauges set wrong. It was but yester- 

 day, that one of the boys cut up a whole pile 

 of boards to the wrong length, because he 

 looked on the wTong side of the square. 

 For fear he would do something of the kind, 

 I had given him a board just right, for a sam- 

 ple, but some one else wanted it, and so he 

 took the dimensions, and it turned out as I 

 have said. Go to your blacksmith, and get 

 him to make two iron frames like the pic- 

 ture below. They are to be made of i inch 

 square iron, and the dimensions, inside, are 

 to be as exactly 16 by 20i as you and he, 

 both, can make them. When you have, with 

 some trouble, got them nearly right, do not 

 say, that is near enough, but make them ex- 

 act. 



PAIR OF IKON GAUGE FRA3IES, FOR 

 HIVE 3IAKING. 



The corners, you must finish out with a 

 file, so that they are sharp and true. For 

 convenience of slipping them over the hives, 

 they are to be made a little flaring, like a 

 barrel hoop ; if they are i inch larger, each 

 way, on the large side, it will be about right. 

 Now, for the buzz saw. You will observe 

 that the sliding half of the table has a bar 

 bolted to its top, for a square cut off gauge ; 

 this gauge must be set accurately, like the 

 other, or you will have much trouble. It is 

 to be so set, that, when you cut off a board 

 held closely against it, it will be exactly 

 square across the end. You can test this 

 with a good square, but I think I would pre- 

 fer to take a board with true straight sides ; 

 cut off a little, say a half inch; now turn it 

 over, and cut off again ; if the strip cut off 

 is of exactly the same width at each end, 

 your gauge is set true. For fear you may 

 not get the idea, I give you a picture. 



HOW TO SET THE CROSS CUT I!AR. 



If your gauge is set right, the slices, C, 



will be exactly straight; i. e., not wedge 



shaped, even if you tiuai the board over so 



; as to cut from the opposite edge at every 



; cut you make. When you are satisfied Avith 



I this, set your parallel bar, so as to cut the 



, side pieces of the hive to just go into the 



! iron frame length wise, and the end pieces, 



, to just go in cross wise. The 37 inch boards 



will just make one of each. If you Avant to 



