Any hive building tips?

[hedgerow pete]

it would not realy make any differance to the bees if the inside of the hive was sawn timber not smooth and as for the outside rough timber absorbs the protection better than planned

 

[psafloyd]

I bought Joe Jacobs Build it! book that contains plans for beehives and I have to say it is rather good. It has a National and a top bar Hive in there and makes it very simple if you're not very skilled at woodwork.
Think I may get his other one about pallets as I am sure it will be useful down the allotment, but for the proce of a a couple of pints, you could do worse than this:

[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Projects-Farmers-Smallholders-Gardeners/dp/1904871321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290723458&sr=8-1[/ame]

 

[wojciech]

Build It

I bought Joe Jacobs Build it! book that contains plans for beehives and I have to say it is rather good. It has a National and a top bar Hive in there and makes it very simple if you're not very skilled at woodwork.
Think I may get his other one about pallets as I am sure it will be useful down the allotment, but for the proce of a a couple of pints, you could do worse than this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Proje...1321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290723458&sr=8-1

Glad you found it useful - it's aimed at the DIY amateur but works well enough and I'm aiming to build some more hives by the spring, hoping to get some increase.

 

[Repwoc]

Picked up 20 metres of sawn 6 x 1 cedar from local (3 miles) sawmill, ordered last friday ready for collection yesterday(weds). 7 off 2.4 mtr and 2 off 2.8 mtr £25.86 inc vat collected!

Hey Russel where did you get that from? That's fantastic value!

 

[Russel]

Hi Paul, Cilfiegansawmill just past Prescoed, Usk.

BTW I still have that other timber if your still interested. Have finished job and need to "dispose", there's 20/30 mtrs of the 190 x 20 and 12+mtrs of the 75 x 50 if your still interested pm or call me to arrange drop off. Take what you want and the rest will have to go in the skip or wood burner, unless you know someone else in need. Sacrilege , I know but you can only keep so much.

Regards Russ

 

[ditchgould]

The tip about the inside dimensions is the soundest one I've seen so far, as all hives differ slightly on the outside. Nothing wrong with a ply brood box, but ply supers get very heavy. Marine ply is very expensive and WBP (water bonded polymer) is equally good for the purpose. Don't, don't don't use Pine (Scandinavian Redwood) or white wood and do not buy it from a DIY warehouse. You will get boards bigger than 3" (75mm). I buy Western Red Cedar boards of 1" (25mm) and 1.5" (38mm) thickness from a timber yard.The timber is not expensive, but if you then have to pay for it to be machined - - .
If you really want to be confused, or want to stick to one set of plans, I drew up the ones that a certain Book company sells at shows and online. You can have a set if you let me have your email address.