Week 7 - Positives of wood, nails and screws and which type to use

Nails

Nails are better for when you are joining a thin piece of wood and a thick piece. Usually, the nail has to be 3 times longer than the thin piece of wood so two-thirds of the nail is in the thick piece of wood, resulting in a stronger hold. Bending the flat end of the nail into the wood also results in a stronger hold but is not as appealing aesthetically. Nails are best for delicate work and are cheap and widely available. But it is best to use wood glue in conjunction with nails for more strength and in addition, when nailing with a hammer the wood can move around and can cause damage to the wood.

As you can see in the picture to the left, that is a round head nail I
nailed into a piece of wood. This was done with relative ease and won't be hard to nail multiple nails in a minute.

It also provided a lot of strength and did not require any cure time after I nailed it in. So it was ready to be used straight away. This is one of the nails greatest strengths, as it does not require any cure time, so some wood can be nailed and then left alone with nothing else done to it.

Screws

Screws provide a strong, clean bond for woodworking. They are a lot easier to remove and during removal they damage the wood less, they can also be used for all types of wood as they are a lot easier to control than nails. Using a screw provides less of an impact on the wood than nails and come in all shapes and size. They take less time and force to apply than a nail, are also resistant to rust as well, easier to remove and can be reused. Although they can rip through certain materials; softwoods will sink or dent under the pressure and some projects are too heavy for screws.

You can see in this picture that it also keeps the wood very tight and close together once the screw is drilled in. This is good as it takes less time to drill them in and it a applies even more strength and grasp on the wood than nails can. 

    Wood glue

Wood glue doesn’t have as strong a bond as nails and screws but is a lot easier and simpler to use. It’s ideal for small woodworking projects like birdhouses and picture frames. The way to use it is to spread a thin layer of glue on both pieces of wood and let them dry together for 3-4 hours before sanding. PVA is non-toxic wood glue and doesn’t produce any fumes while bonding. Glues such as epoxy resin and aliphatic resin should be used in a well-ventilated area, but are generally non-toxic. Wood glue has a fairly quick drying time, is generally non-toxic/safe for regular use, has good bonding strength for reinforcing joints and repairing small cracks, it has a wide variety of types for different projects and applications and is also relatively cheap and readily available. It can be messy though and hard to work with - some types of wood glue (PVA) can’t be repaired or reworked later down the line.

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Best heads of screws to use

The head of the screw has a significant impact on how well the screw will work (e.g. strength)

Bugle head screws drive in quickly and have good holding power in most materials. Trim head screws are a good choice when you only need some holding power and don’t want the head of the fastener to show too much. When driven into pre-drilled holes, trim head screws are less likely to split thin or delicate wood parts.

Traditional flat and oval head screws lend a nice clean look to projects but require a countersink (a groove in wood, below the surface) so the screw can lie flush with the wood. In contrast, most flat head production screws are self-countersinking: they create their own recess that allows the head to sit flush.

Best nails to use

Roundhead nails are the most popular one due to widespread availability in varying lengths and thicknesses, allowing for a different range of rough woodworking. They are especially used when appearance is not of importance and strength is paramount.

In the picture to the right, you can see that I have found and used a round head nail to join two pieces of wood together. I believe that this type of nail is the best nail to use because of its popularity and availability, as well as its ability to join wood together with great strength - it also lasts a long time without having to be replaced.

What wood to use

Pine

Pine is affordable, easy to work with, and widely available.  There are different grades of pine. Standard pine may have some knots in it but is structurally sufficient for building beehives.  Premium or select pine costs more but is more attractive looking. Premium pine is free of any knots and has nice, straight wood grain. It is also very easy to work with. For example, it is easy to cut, stain and carve so it saves time on work and is helpful for me when I’m on a schedule. It is also accepting of nails which means that nails can be driven into the wood with ease and save from pre-drilling which saves me time and money on buying the tools.

Cedar

The natural oils of cedarwood gives it a nice smell and protects it from insects and rotting. There are different types of cedar, but the most common is western red cedar. Cedar is not used quite as often as pine because of its cost, but it does look much nicer in appearance. It isn’t affected by humid conditions so it will stay the same shape and remain straight and flat. This is great because inside a hive the space needs to be the same and similar to the space in naturally formed hives in the wild. It is also a very light wood which is really useful when beekeepers are working with the hive and removing honey as it does have a lot of weight, especially when full. 

Fir

Fir wood is widely used because of its stability and non-porous qualities. Its tight, close grain lines mean that the wood is strong and less prone to warping and twisting.  While it is possible for fir to expand or shrink due to exposure to moisture, fir always returns to its original shape. For this reason, builders enjoy using fir. This wood is also water-resistant and can last long times in harsh weather conditions. It can also maintain its original size which is needed in hives and can also dry a lot faster than other woods, which means it's great for humid locations.

How this helped me?

This has helped me as it has given me a much greater understanding of what the different nails and screws can provide to my hive, both benefits and negatives. This has helped me decide to choose nails to make my hive and has given me more awareness in learning how to use nails effectively. Also, the research above has also helped me decide further, which materials will be the best to use for the hive, for example, which glues will be best for the hive and the bees as well as which wood will be best.