Cedar Hive - Deep Fry?

[The Bix]

I'm thinking about making some woodenware out of cedar, does it make sense to deep fry in wax like one would as a preservative for regular pine boxes?

[Michael Bush]

I would if you have the setup to do it.

In your avatar, is that a model rocket?  Well, it's a bit big for a "model", shall we say an "Amateur" rocket?  Solid fuel I assume?

[The Bix]

MB,

Cedar hives are interesting to me due to the fact that they weather better than pine and you don't have to paint them to preserve.  I have also heard that they are good for bees because they breathe better than pine.  But if the latter is not true or not helpful for the bees, you may as well save the money and buy pine if you're going to go to the trouble to deep fry them.  Right?

Amateur rocket would be most accurate.  However, it is also a 75% scale model of of NASA's "Nike Smoke".  NASA flew lots of these during the Apollo launches and it is a favorite model of amateur and model rocketeers alike.  The only kind of propellants that the safety code allows is solid or hybrid (where nitrous oxide is used as an oxidizer combined with a solid fuel grain made of anything from plastic to hard salami).  My buddy and I have flown this beast twice and recovered it successfully both times.  We plan to fly it again this year...it's a real crowd pleaser.

[windfall]

The cedar does "breath" better in terms of the rate that moisture can migrate through the wood, but the difference is small compared to white pine. Neither is moving moisture at anywhere near the rate the bees are generating it, so neither is really breathing in any significant sense.

This is especially true below freezing when folks seem most concerned with moisture, wet frozen wood doesn't dry out much below 1/16" from surface.

[The Bix]

Windfall, thanks for the reply.  So, the conclusion is that if you're going to deep fry the woodenware, white pine is the way to go since it's much cheaper.  If not, cedar is better because it's lighter and you don't have to paint.

[cbinstrasburg]

So do you have to paint the pine if you boil in wax?

thanks Carl

[Michael Bush]

>So do you have to paint the pine if you boil in wax?

I don't...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdipping.htm