Retos en la sucesión de la propiedad intelectual

that will contain the bamboo and drilled tree limb sec- tions. Cut each of the pieces to length and width (PHOTO 1). Then cut a 45-degree bevel at the top of each hotel side. I’m cutting these bevels on the table saw in PHOTO 2, but you could also do these with a miter saw, jig saw with adjustable base, or by hand.

Begin assembly by gluing and nailing the roof together; note that the longer right side of the roof overlaps the shorter left side to create a right angle. Now, assemble the lower portion of the hotel by attaching the two sides to the floor section with glue and nails, as shown in PHOTO3. Be sure to orient the sides so the bevels face to the outside. Finally, attach the roof assembly to the completed lower portion with glue and nails. Use a nail set to put the nails just below the wood surface.

With the main body of the hotel complete, prepare the nest material. You can use any kind of bamboo you can find, or heavy reeds of the type found growing around lakes and ponds. You’ll need narrow pieces, with internal openings ideally from ¼ " to ⁄", but it’s fine to mix in some smaller and larger ones in the finished hotel. In fact, you’ll definitely want some smaller ones to use as filler, as I’ll describe later. If you have trouble locating bamboo, try your local fabric or craft store, as they usually carry bamboo in a variety of sizes for crafts and decorating (PHOTO4).

The bamboo I found was 9" in length; cutting each piece in half gave me 4½ " sections, right in the 4" to 6" range that bees prefer (PHOTO5). With your bamboo or reeds sized, put them aside and move to the cut tree sec- tions.

I strip the thin branches off old Christmas trees and save the trunks for shop projects. My bamboo sections are 4½ " long, so I cut the tree sections to the same length as shown in PHOTO6. The bark was falling off my wood so I peeled off all the loose material, but stripping bark isn’t necessary if it’s firmly attached. The number of tree pieces you’ll need depends on their diameter—I needed three to adequately fill the hotel with them and the bamboo—so experiment a bit.

With your hotel assembly flat on a work surface with its front opening facing up, put in your tree sections first, and then fill in all the open spaces with the bamboo tubes. The bamboo will vary in diameter and shape, but it’s best to begin with the larger pieces first, and then fill in the gaps with narrower pieces. As the hotel fills up, the tree sections and bamboo will tighten up. Tap the very smallest tubes into place with a wooden block to avoid damaging

PHOTO 2 Saw a 45-degree bevel on the top of each side piece.

PHOTO 1 Cut each piece of wood to length and width according to the Cut List.

PHOTO 3 Glue and nail the two roof parts together (left), assemble the two sides to the floor (right), and attach the two subassemblies together.

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the ends, as shown in PHOTO7. Keep filling the hotel until the tree sections and bamboo tubes are all held snugly in place. You can fill any remaining gaps between loose tubes with twigs grabbed from outdoors.

As things get tight, pick up the hotel to see if every- thing stays in place (PHOTO8). Once everything is tight, you should be able to pick up the hotel and flip it over, and all the sticks will stay in place. Put a dot of waterproof glue on the ends of the tubes where they touch each other—not a lot, just a dot to help hold everything in place.

Place the hotel on your mounting board and lightly trace around it in pencil, then drill four countersunk pilot holes through the back of the mounting board. Upend the hotel assembly and drive screws through the mounting board and into the hotel sides and roof to secure it (PHOTO9).

Finally, scatter a series of drilled nest holes down into each tree section, as shown in PHOTO10. Since the bamboo has a variety of opening sizes, I drilled both ¼ " and ⁄" holes to make this hotel readily accessible to both mason bees and leafcutters.

Alter the measurements of this project any way you like, but try to keep the length of the nest holes in that 4" to 6" range. Otherwise, make it as tall, wide and massive as you like, and use any variety of solid wood, tree sections, bam- boo, reeds and other items that strikes your fancy. Before you know it, your bee hotel will be getting five-star reviews.

PHOTO 4 This bamboo is from the craft supply store. It’s OK to mix large and small pieces.

PHOTO 5 Saw the bamboo to lengths in the 4" to 6" range.

PHOTO 7 As the hotel fills up, use a wooden block to tap the last pieces into place.

PHOTO 6 Saw small log sections to the same length as the bamboo. Be sure to clamp the wood securely onto the miter gauge so the blade can’t catch.

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