EPQ - Artefact

VOC stands for the volatile organic compound.   VOC’s refer to the chemicals that evaporate out of the paint as it dries.    These chemicals are unstable and  are harmful, causing health problems in humans and animals. Headaches, nausea, irritation to the airways, liver, and kidney damage are all ailments that can occur if you breathe in VOC’s.  Low VOC paints mean that they have less volatile organic compounds, and thus, require less off-gassing. These paints have less odour than regular paint and dry quicker.  When it comes to VOC’s in paint, less is better.  Choose paint with the lowest level.  Generally, a VOC level of under 50 is considered low VOC.  Examples of Low VOC paints ·       BEHR Premium Plus Interior – under 50 ·       Benjamin Moore Paint Aura – 50 ·       Glidden High Endurance Paint – 0 ·       Sherwin-William...

Tape measure, hand saw, hammer, screwdriver, drill with drill-bit, square, hand-planer, wood chisel, utility knife, spirit level, staple gun, circular saw (I have all of the tools listed above except for the circular saw, a circular saw is shown in the image to the right.)  (This saw only costs £40, which is relatively cheap compared to other makes. I could think of buying this saw for my project, but my Uncle also has a circular saw which I will borrow to use for my project. This will be more cost effective and a better use of resources than simply spending money on a new saw, when I can just borrow one.) Mac Allister MSCS1200 1200W 165mm Electric Circular Saw 220-240V | Circular Saws | Screwfix.com The timber should be 20mm-25mm thick, and 300mm wide. Planed shelving timber is suitable, and you’ll need 10-20 metres depending on how many levels you want your hive to have. You’ll also need two pieces of exterior plywood for the roof, one 500mm x 420mm and another piece 390mm x 350m...

Exploring how to join wood: Plywood or Metal strap This is considered the simplest method and appearance is not as important. All you need to do is grab wood planks then lay it sideways along the wood pieces. Next, glue or nail the plank onto the surfaces of the wood pieces. This will work as long as you’re able to manage to keep the wood pieces close together. This is very simple and it saves money in the long run. Make sure that the plank is able to support the wood pieces weight. Make sure to work on a flat surface. Also, pressing the pieces against each other leaves no gap. These two pictures on the left and right are when I first performed this joining method with two pieces of wood put together with round head nails and screws. This way to join wood is in my opinion the simplest and most cost-effective way of joining wood together while also providing the most strength as well. It only took me a minute to join them together and it was done. Make a hole and screw pieces together ...

Different ways to cut wood: Cross-cut A cross-cut is cutting perpendicular or across the grain. In most cases, a cross-cut determines the length of the piece of wood.    For example, if I have a piece of wood that is 12 inches long and I want it 8 inches long, I would make a cross-cut to shorten it to the desired length. The blade is positioned straight up and down at 0 degrees and is square to the board being cut. As you can see in these pictures, I had a go at attempting to do a cross-cut. I believe that this was successful, as I managed to do a cross cut with relative ease and the outcome was good. As can be seen in the picture to the top-right. Rip-Cut A rip cut, is a cut parallel or with the grain of the wood. Generally but not in all cases a rip cut determines the width of a piece of wood.  For example, if I have a 1 x 4 piece of wood that I want to trim to a 1 x 3 size I would rip cut one inch off to decrease the width.   As you can see in this picture I ...

The different parts of a hive are:   Bottom Board/Floor Is the foundation of the hive, it is where all the bees enter and exit the hive. It is also what the hive sits on top of and therefore holds the entire weight. It also has a mesh floor that allows for unwanted debris to fall through when the bees do not need it. Entrance Reducer Is a piece of wood that reduces the size of the entrance of the hive that controls the amount of bees allowed in and out of the hive. Hive Bodies (Brood Box) The brood box is the area of the hive where the bees live, as well as the queen bee. It is also where the queen bee lays all the eggs, (nursery) where they will grow and hatch. Queen Excluder Is used to keep the queen bee out of the super box - where the honey is stored. This is done so the queen bee cannot lay any eggs in the honey, enabling it to be collected and eaten without any eggs in it. The queen excluder is basically a board with many gaps in it that allows the worker bees to go thr...