Paynes Poly Hive Hive Stand

pargyle · Jun 6, 2015

Well .. I've made another stand for my latest Paynes Poly Hive .. just about got it off to perfection now.

Materials:

2 x 2.4m Lengths Wickes Stud Partition planed timber £2.98 each

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Studwork-(CLS)-38x63x2400mm-Single/p/107177

1 x 2.4 Length Wickes Treated Sale Timber £2.19

2.5m length of Pallet boards (or go mad and buy some new !).

10 Long Screws (4 x 70mm) 3p each
40 Short screws (4 x 40mm) 2.5p each

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Building-Materials/Screws/Ultra-Gold-Screws/c/1000284

You can get them cheaper but it's hardly a saving.

Waterproof glue. (I use Evostick Blue - a bottle lasts ages and doesn't go off).

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Evo-Stik-Resin-W-Weatherproof-Wood-Adhesive-1L/p/227834

So .... total cost .. without the glue and paint finish = £6.47.

I have a cutting list with all the sizes if anyone is interested PM me and I'll send it off.

There's enough timber left over after cutting to start another one.

Here's the actual assembly sequence ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125609724@N03/sets/72157651752848654

It's not a work of art, it's a hive stand, it's made to be relatively cheap, robust and it provides a nice deep drop between the mesh floor and the inspection board instead of the ridiculously small gap as Paynes have designed. I have the advantage of having a Radial Arm Saw, a Circular Saw and a Pillar Drill so it is very quick to accurately cut and drill the timber but there's no complicated joints so, as long as all the pieces are cut to the right size and square, it will go together fairly easily. All the joints are glued and screwed and I give mine a coat of Sadolin Clear to waterproof them.

Enjoy ....

dexter's shed · Jun 6, 2015

that's so weird, I too made a wooden hive stand for my poly paynes nucs last week, total cost to me £0, oh, some people call it a pallet

deanrpwaacs · Jun 6, 2015

I went with the 4 blocks 2 strips 4 brackets plan .

Thymallus · Jun 6, 2015

dexter's shed said:
that's so weird, I too made a wooden hive stand for my poly paynes nucs last week, total cost to me £0, oh, some people call it a pallet

Nice one...but isn't the hive strap a bit of an extravagance when there are bricks and stones around

dexter's shed · Jun 6, 2015

Thymallus said:
Nice one...but isn't the hive strap a bit of an extravagance when there are bricks and stones around

that's to strap it to the pallet, as it's in the woods, didn't want any nosey critters pushing it over

pargyle · Jun 6, 2015

dexter's shed said:
that's so weird, I too made a wooden hive stand for my poly paynes nucs last week, total cost to me £0, oh, some people call it a pallet]

If it works it's fine by me, looks good ... My hives are in the garden and the aesthetics of pallets don't really cut it with SWMBO ... she won't go near the hives but she can see them..... There are some costs that are worth it for me ...

I wouldn't buy a flow hive though ....

For want of a better word · Jun 6, 2015

I put 500mm legs on my sawn in half pallet stands!

a long strap can secure 3 pollynucs in one go
Saves time and money... something the more tightfisted beeks would appreciate!

Yeghes da

For want of a better word · Jun 6, 2015

Wow Phillip... I can see some Top Bar technology creeping in there... did you give the stand a coat of preservative.... almost a piece of furniture!

Yeghes da

pargyle · Jun 6, 2015

icanhopit said:
Wow Phillip... I can see some Top Bar technology creeping in there... did you give the stand a coat of preservative.... almost a piece of furniture!

Yeghes da

Yes ... I've got three 2.5ltr tins of clear Sadolin that was donated (meets my usual cheapskate ways !) by a neighbour who bought it by mistake thinking it was the Chestnut colour of our timber window frames ... he had bought it last year so could not take it back ... One tin has done four stands already and there's enough left in there for another two I reckon ...

It looks better in the photos than it actually is .. just sawn edges and some of the timber is a bit rough but I've got the time to making one down to less than an hour so I compromise - I'm no Chippendale.

itma · Jun 6, 2015

I've bought pressure-treated decking joists from B&Q that are 2400mm long. Cheap enough, especially on Wednesdays.

Cut 15" off one end of each of two beams.

Using 8x 100mm long screws the two offcuts are used as crossbars to space the rails just nicely to be used for holding frames, dummy boards, etc during inspections.
Two crossbars seems OK.
My suggestion is to have the crossbars about 12" in from the end of the rails, and support the stand at the crossbar on Wickes lightweight breezeblocks.

At a pinch, three hives can go on each such stand, though my original intent was to have been two hives and a pile of ready-to-use supers in between. Heigh ho...

Erichalfbee · Jun 6, 2015

pargyle said:
Well .. I've made another stand for my latest Paynes Poly Hive .. just about got it off to perfection now.

Work of art.
Can I put an order in for two please ?

BeeJayBee · Jun 7, 2015

pargyle said:
- I'm no Chippendale.

Ah, I misread that!

oliver90owner · Jun 7, 2015

I think you need to review the total cost of materials! First item comes to almost six quid.

pargyle · Jun 7, 2015

oliver90owner said:
I think you need to review the total cost of materials! First item comes to almost six quid.

"There's enough timber left over after cutting to start another one."

After all the bits have been cut there's enough left over for about 1/3 of the pieces for making another one so my costing is about right .. might be a few pence more and I didn't allow for paint or glue as these are things I had laying around. I'm not taking orders so profit is not a motive ...

oliver90owner · Jun 7, 2015

You might, but others may not. Cost is cost and that is what you need to shell out up front.

Also depends on ''which third''. Might have to finish up with 2/3rds of a unit left over, after building two! Better to be honest and say it will cost a tenner for one, but some bits surplus. Some don't even know the meaning of storing surplus or using the extra glue before it goes off.

pargyle · Jun 7, 2015

oliver90owner said:
You might, but others may not. Cost is cost and that is what you need to shell out up front.

Also depends on ''which third''. Might have to finish up with 2/3rds of a unit left over, after building two! Better to be honest and say it will cost a tenner for one, but some bits surplus. Some don't even know the meaning of storing surplus or using the extra glue before it goes off.

OK RAB ... I can agree with that.

Having said that ... I've already thought of a practical way to eliminate the cost of the length of the smaller piece of timber by running the larger piece of timber through my circular saw .. so that's instantly £2.19 off the cost. If I use only one screw instead of 2 on the base boards it will save another 30p and neither of these changes will compromise the design or the structural integrity - so I'm back to nearer my original cost. I think I will be able to get two hive stands out of three pieces of timber with a bit of creative cutting which will save me a bit more. I'm also buying timber in single lengths from Wickes - who are probably not the cheapest - and small packets of screws rather than bulk buys ~ so there are more options to save if multiple stands are to be made. But your comments are valid. It's a work in progress and all comments are helpful.

itma · Jun 7, 2015

My concern would be about an unbalanced condition.

Because the four screws each side attaching legs to 'floor' are rather close to the centre of the side, any (unmatched) weight at front or rear (as photographed) is going to have a long lever - and thus create a large torsional moment on the leg attachment.
Not a problem as long as everything is well balanced (and there's no wind).
But it does look to me like that would be where failure would be most likely to occur.

Have you tried standing on it? (My 'stress test' for a hive stand!

)

wessexmario · Jun 7, 2015

would agree if the joints were just screwed, but using wood glue as well should make the joint as strong as the wood itself, so I wouldn't be too concerned.

Time will tell... How did the 'stress test' go?

wessexmario · Jun 7, 2015

would agree if the joints were just screwed, but using wood glue as well should make the joint as strong as the wood itself, so I wouldn't be too concerned.

Time will tell... How did the 'stress test' go?

ps. just standing on it? I jump on mine

pargyle · Jun 7, 2015

itma said:
My concern would be about an unbalanced condition.

Because the four screws each side attaching legs to 'floor' are rather close to the centre of the side, any (unmatched) weight at front or rear (as photographed) is going to have a long lever - and thus create a large torsional moment on the leg attachment.
Not a problem as long as everything is well balanced (and there's no wind).
But it does look to me like that would be where failure would be most likely to occur.

Have you tried standing on it? (My 'stress test' for a hive stand! )

Thanks ITMA, your comments are appreciated.

It will stand my (nearly) 100kg of weight (180+lbs) stood on it with my feet at the apex of the legs - I've tried it ! The legs and joints will stand that weight without any concerns. Bear in mind the joints are all glued and screwed.

I didn't try it with my feet set 'fore and aft' as the timber across the top of the back of it is only for bracing so that bit would not stand the point loading of my weight.

Wind loading I can't test but I put a hive strap around the brood box and the super, strapped the hive to the stand and tried to pull it over - with the force applied at the top of the hive - where there would be the greatest leverage. With boxes empty I could get the hive to tip towards me but it took a fair bit of effort. Obviously, when the boxes have frames, brood and honey in them there is going to be that much more weight in the stack and the leverage would need to be that much greater to turn it over.

The legs splay outwards almost to the hive perimeter so that gives it the most stability within the confines of the available timber dimensions.

I've had the three 'prototypes' in use for up to a year now and they are showing no signs of movement in the joints so I'm hopeful that they will stand up to use.

From a hive security point of view I thought that an eye bolt through one of the 'slats' in the bottom would lend itself to the hive being chained to the stand and also to a strong point in the ground immediately below the stand - which would, probably, make it hurricane proof !!

My apiary is very sheltered and inside my fenced and walled garden - so it's not something that was top of my concerns but I can see that may be a consideration for a more exposed apiary (in terms of weather and security).

You all challenge my thinking ... :thanks:

Paynes Poly Hive Hive Stand

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