Dimensions and guide to make a 5 frames national nuc

bpsod10 · Mar 31, 2018

Hi all and Happy Easter.
I bought a 8x4 19mm sheet of plywood and a new jigsaw in the hope of making a national nuc. Copied a video on the web only to find they use thinner plywood so long story short my nuc is a failure.
If there anyone who could help me with a guide on building a nuc with 19mm plywood from scratch as I have spent hours searching when and have failed.

Thanks in advance

Newbeeneil · Mar 31, 2018

Try this from Cushman

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/roger_nuc_box.html

Madge · Mar 31, 2018

... or this: https://bee-craft.com/bee-craft-shop/product/how-to-make-a-five-frame-nucleus-hive/

drex · Apr 1, 2018

You can't go wrong with the plans as suggested by Newbeeneil. ROger Patterson gives you the critical internal dimensions, to which you just figure in the thickness of your wood. Have made about a dozen up from these plans all scrap wood, all of different sizes, and all have been spot on. Have a copy of the plans pinned on my shed wall. Take your time, as it takes a bit of figuring out first time round.
From one size sheet should be easy. I find I cut wiggly with a jigsaw, much straighter with a circular saw. Mind you, the bees soon plug any small holes from my lack of skill.

oliver90owner · Apr 1, 2018

So, I am amazed you have 19mm ply, for a start! Virtually all ply is now metric, so 18mm thick. You might still get 8 x 4 feet sheets for older buildings, but most is likely 1200 x 2400mm.

That said there is only a matter of 2mm difference to take into consideration - and that is only 1mm bee space all round. Videos are often/occasionally put up by numpties (so, one needs to check out a lot of things, touted as gospel, by a fair proportion of numpties that post vids). Relying on one video is your failing, I’m afraid. Just add, or subtract, 2mm to/from the posted dimensions and then check that the bee space is correct.

Alternatively, simply build your box around the standard frame size, allowing bee space as appropriate. Frames are different thickness these days, so don’t get caught out on that one. Happy Easter.