Constructing double screen boards and only two trips to the hardware store.

I will be getting my new queens in their nucs and a package for  Olea's hive this weekend.  I had been mulling over the best way to combine the nucs with the current colonies safely.  The one time I added a frame of brood, we just sprayed the bees with honey-b-healthy, so I figured that that would be the way to go.  But I wasn't certain and I contacted Kathy Niven.  She was the lady who taught my first bee class long ago.  She helped me with the aforementioned brood frame and has given me other advice.  I emailed her and she called back that evening because there was too much to say for an email.
The problem isn't the workers accepting each other, which is what the honey-b-healthy spray helps, but the old workers accepting (and not killing) the new queen.  She recommended using a double screen board or having the queens in cages.  The latter can't be done, so I looked for double screen boards.  These boards are placed between the two brood boxes with the nuc and new queen in the top.  This allow the old bees to get used to the pheromones of the new queen without being able to get at her.  There needs to be a separate entrance for the top box; this is part of the double screen board frame.  I didn't think I'd be able to buy them in time, and being frugal, I decided to build my own.
I found plans on Beesource- a well-constructed board involving router work for dado cuts and overlaps.  I haven't the skill or workshop to do that so I modified the plans to match my carpentry level.
First trip to Orchard supply for the 1/4" board and hardware cloth.  Second trip later to get more hardware cloth- I hadn't calculated for the 'double' of double screen board.

My workshop

I used plywood I already had for the frames.  The measuring and cutting of the pieces went (mostly) smoothly.  I only had to do one second cutting on one board to make it 1/8" shorter.

No bees will squeeze through

All cut and ready for assembly

After all the wood was cut, I cut the hardware cloth and then assembled the frames. I used a plethora of staples to fasten the screen to the boards, enough that I had to twice refill the staple gun. I then nailed the frames to the screened boards.  Getting the nails to hit the center of a 1/4" fiberboard was challenging.  I had about 80% success on the first attempt.  Then a nail into each overlapping frame end, and voila!, a double screen board....without a door!  You can see on my plan a note to "cut entrance", but who follows instructions?
My choices: take the frame apart, cut the door and then re-assemble or cut the door with the board already together.  The choice was obvious and now I had to figure how to cut out a 4"x3/8" notch without tearing the screen apart.  The jigsaw was too awkward, the reciprocating saw may have been too much, the hacksaw was just right.  I made two cuts and then used the jigsaw to cut out the door; it worked so well that I cut the door in the other frame piece the same way.

Completed frames

Close-up of door

Then it was time to go to Marimba.  Finished the frame this morning.  Now we'll see how they work this weekend when I install by new queens and bees.