Constructing your own hive

[hiveabee]

last year I bought my first hive, 1x varrora base/floor, 1 x brood box, 2 x supers, 1 x crown board, 1 x lid, total cost about £150. I thought yes were off. I was some what disappointed when i looked at how easy it would have been if I had took the time and found out all the correct measurement and just built my own.
Last Week I spent £50 on timber etc at my local builders merchants and today I have completed 1x 5 frame nuc and 1 full size national hive (1x super not 2) with the aforementioned materials. Now I know the wood in my construction is not cedar, But I have Hen cabins made out pine which my Father built 40 years ago still standing and in use. So I don't want this cedar last longer answer. But why Cedar

John

 

[Compostcritter]

Because softwood needs treating. A
Treating a brood box full of bees is not easy, I know I've done it! Would rather pay a little more for less hassle. However supers are easy to treat out of season so I have a few soft wood. Invaribly they do not get so much wear and tear as they are bought in during winter.

 

[oliver90owner]

Because softwood needs treating.

So many fall into this trap. Think. Is cedar a softwood or a hardwood?

RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

I stood once next to a "shouter" at a show and he powered into a "hardwood" demonstration piece long screws with the magical tool he was selling.

On investigating that night, his hardwood was actually softer than balsa....

Pays to look up just how hard or soft a named timber actually is.

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

Balsa is a hardwood.

 

[Poly Hive]

Precisely.

PH

 

[Sussex Bees]

Cedar is a softwood.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

we treat to prevent rotting and things like algae growth, if we don't treat any softwood (like Cedar) then we have to accept that they can go (will go in my case) green and yucky and will need a pressure wash once in a while. A properly done white wood box can last a very long time so there are pros and cons to all of these.

 

[Poly Hive]

One of the primary design points in both Langstroth and Smith was that they were easy to construct, and that in the days long before the range of power tools available now.

The Nat is a construct nightmare in comparison.

PH

 

[Russel]

One of the primary design points in both Langstroth and Smith was that they were easy to construct, and that in the days long before the range of power tools available now.

The Nat is a construct nightmare in comparison.

PH

Amen to that PH

 

[Baggyone]

Does make me laugh all this softwood/hardwood nonsense. As mentioned balsa (a rediculasly soft structural wood) is a hardwood, pine (amazingly strong structural wood) is a softwood.

Simply put ignore the hardwood/softwood rubbish, means nothing in terms of hive use. What your looking for is durability in timber.

Try looking at the wood database
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/database-terms/

hive materials are always going to be a tradeoff between cost/durability/weight. Cedar is probably the best combination.

baggy

 

[johnfranklyn]

Cedar wood supply.

last year I bought my first hive, 1x varrora base/floor, 1 x brood box, 2 x supers, 1 x crown board, 1 x lid, total cost about £150. I thought yes were off. I was some what disappointed when i looked at how easy it would have been if I had took the time and found out all the correct measurement and just built my own.
Last Week I spent £50 on timber etc at my local builders merchants and today I have completed 1x 5 frame nuc and 1 full size national hive (1x super not 2) with the aforementioned materials. Now I know the wood in my construction is not cedar, But I have Hen cabins made out pine which my Father built 40 years ago still standing and in use. So I don't want this cedar last longer answer. But why Cedar

John

Having made myself several Smith hives in the past perhaps I may pass on an idea. I went to a wood yard where they actualy saw timber and talked to the sawyer about getting hold of some cedar. This chap dragged me off to a small shed, pointed out to me a pile of cedar offcuts and said to help myself. The resulting boot full cut down to some very good Smith hives. I called later and supplied jars of honey as a thankyou. I was told to return if I required more. Perhaps an offer of honey would work for you? A good dimension saw is a must though.
johnfranklyn

 

[oliver90owner]

Yep, lightness and durability - a good poly product fits the bill admirably!!!

 

[REDWOOD]

The trouble with cedar is you can't buy it in B&Q or anywhere in Swansea unless you spend £150 for it to make complete hive and that is special order only, I tried a local saw mill for good quality pine and that worked out @ £75, so now I use pine T&G floor boards glue and clamped and they seem fine after 2 years with no signs of joints opening

 

[oliver90owner]

A good dimension saw is a must though.

On the tools side. A router and table is actually perfectly adequate to make hives. All the cuts, 'planing' and jointing can be done with a router. Never wanted/needed to 'plane' wood with a router, yet, but it is easily within it's bounds of use.

And many get by with a relatively cheapo table saw. I do.

 

[geebee]

I make my Commercial Brood Boxes from four pieces of plywood, much easier than eight piece Nationals Larger too no fussing about with Brood and half.

 

[REDWOOD]

A good dimension saw is a must though.

On the tools side. A router and table is actually perfectly adequate to make hives. All the cuts, 'planing' and jointing can be done with a router. Never wanted/needed to 'plane' wood with a router, yet, but it is easily within it's bounds of use.

And many get by with a relatively cheapo table saw. I do.

and a cheap chop saw makes the job a bit quicker

 

[TBRNoTB]

last year I bought my first hive, 1x varrora base/floor, 1 x brood box, 2 x supers, 1 x crown board, 1 x lid, total cost about £150. I thought yes were off. I was some what disappointed when i looked at how easy it would have been if I had took the time and found out all the correct measurement and just built my own.
Last Week I spent £50 on timber etc at my local builders merchants and today I have completed 1x 5 frame nuc and 1 full size national hive (1x super not 2) with the aforementioned materials. Now I know the wood in my construction is not cedar, But I have Hen cabins made out pine which my Father built 40 years ago still standing and in use. So I don't want this cedar last longer answer. But why Cedar

John

I agree, surely it depends on how long you want the hive to last? Instead of the pedantic rubbish of hard/soft wood!

 

[hiveabee]

look, all i asked is why cedar. 40 years on,I am still using my Dads tongue and grove pine hen sheds,no rot. They are 24' x 12 '. I have 2 of them resting on a a floor bricked up so you can get a terrier under them in case of rats etc. I treat the wood once a year with dare I say creosote , I have taken the same approach with the hives I have made out of pine. The treatment of the wood is advised by Mr Hamilton in His book dated 1950s. As nobody can give me a good reason to use cedar, I will continue to to make brood box,s and supers out of what ever wood meets the requirements at the time of construction.You are all freinds but get a grip, a well maintained brood box or super will last a long time , trust me

 

[RoseCottage]

Hiveabee,
Last year, as our colony count shot up, we too decided to build our own. We use WBC hives so that's lots of additional lifts too.

We started in pine and built 3 hives...yes one is still in use no sign of major damage but now we are building In cedar.

However, my personal observations are:

1. The pine hives were heavy. The first ones were a little too thick in the dimensions and weighed a ton. Later hives were the correct sizes (once we had got our eye in) but are still pretty heavy.

2. They breathe a lot. The worst case scenario for a home builder is to find themselves with an angry colony in deteriorating conditions, trying to squeeze the roof back onto a hive which has expanded and is now just that little bit too fat. It is, and has been, a real pain.

Now whether these issues are always self imposed I am too inexperienced a woodworker to say but they persuaded us to go off and by some western red cedar and dry it out through the winter.

At first I thought we could just build some parts of the hive in pine...I mean the floor is going to be ok right? Nope not for us as it kept breathing and sometimes the Varroa tray would slide in and not come out the next week without a battle or not go in at all.

So for us... all cedar and painted. As a great friend used to say...Happy Days.

All the best,
Sam