Crownboard ?

[AndreaW]

Silly question - if I try to move my stores from my super down into the brood box by putting the crownboard between bb and super - do I need another crownboard on top of the super as well?

 

[Cazza]

Silly question - if I try to move my stores from my super down into the brood box by putting the crownboard between bb and super - do I need another crownboard on top of the super as well?

Yes!
Cazza

 

[AndreaW]

Yes!
Cazza

Great thanks for that, just added a new crownboard to my order with National Beekeeping

 

[Arfermo]

I thought the bees moved the stores!! We live and learn.

 

[victor meldrew]

I thought the bees moved the stores!! We live and learn.

Any roughly 18" square of sheet material will suffice to cover the top super ?Even fabric , after all it's only there to prevent robbing and to prevent bees from building wild comb in the roof space
VM

 

[SixFooter]

Go to B & Q and buy a sheet of 9mm ply. They will cut it into 460mm squares for you for not very much. Bought crown boards are made from 6mm ply,but the 6mm ply I have seen at B & Q was really poor quality.

 

[David P]

Go to B & Q and buy a sheet of 9mm ply. They will cut it into 460mm squares for you for not very much. Bought crown boards are made from 6mm ply,but the 6mm ply I have seen at B & Q was really poor quality.

B&Q will cut for free

 

[Arfermo]

Go to B & Q and buy a sheet of 9mm ply. They will cut it into 460mm squares for you for not very much. Bought crown boards are made from 6mm ply,but the 6mm ply I have seen at B & Q was really poor quality.

Register with your local Freecyle site (Freegle where I live) and bid for some ply for free - and anything else that is offered that seems interesting !!! Good way of offloading all sorts of stuff too.

 

[drex]

Andrea,

Commercial hives are bottom bee space, so in order to stop bees sticking it to your top bars, you would need to add a frame round the edge of your square of ply on the underside. B&Q do some nice laths 8 mm deep and I think 21 cm wide, which are just the right size, you just have to cut them to length and glue and staple on. Have made several.

I did post a reply on your original post about this question.

 

[victor meldrew]

Andrea,

Commercial hives are bottom bee space, so in order to stop bees sticking it to your top bars, you would need to add a frame round the edge of your square of ply on the underside. B&Q do some nice laths 8 mm deep and I think 21 cm wide, which are just the right size, you just have to cut them to length and glue and staple on. Have made several.

I did post a reply on your original post about this question.

This use is only whilst clearing supers ,although Quilts in the classic use of the word have been used for years on bottom space hives with no trouble whatsoever I've used them myself !

 

[oliver90owner]

Drex,

A bit OTT using lathe 21cm wide! Seems more like a sheet to me!!

Regards, RAB

 

[SixFooter]

B&Q will cut for free

Only 4 cuts. If you cut a full sheet into 18" squares, you will need more than 4 cuts.

 

[AndreaW]

Oh well read all these posts too late , this forum moves so quickly . Thanks for your comments though will bear in mind for next hive. Have already ordered another crownboard and a eke for apiguard. At least I got the eke half price as they have made them a bit smaller - they assure me they are still large enough

I will let my girls move the stores then instead of moving them myself, much less work form me ;-)

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Of course you always use specially adapted high quality clearer boards as a crown board replacement!

 

[MandF]

I must be missing something - why the need for another crownboard, or any cover aside from the roof?

I have only got 1 crownboard per hive and it goes where I want the bees to think their hive space ends.. so anything I want them to clean out & take down goes above the crownboard, then roof straight on top? I have never had a problem with them trying to build comb under the roof even when I have left a "clearing" super on for some time.

And thats either a super with several frames on, or even just the super being used as a large eke, and comb with honey put on the crown board.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I must be missing something - why the need for another crownboard, or any cover aside from the roof?

I have only got 1 crownboard per hive and it goes where I want the bees to think their hive space ends.. so anything I want them to clean out & take down goes above the crownboard, then roof straight on top? I have never had a problem with them trying to build comb under the roof even when I have left a "clearing" super on for some time.

And thats either a super with several frames on, or even just the super being used as a large eke, and comb with honey put on the crown board.

Can you bring some of your bees to me, i am at the end of the Northern Line at Mill Hill East

i think it depends on your bees, i have one hive that builds comb in its rapid feeder and the api eke currently looks like 11 mini Himalayas

 

[richardbees]

Just have a look in local skips as you pass - there's always discarded ply.

 

[MandF]

Can you bring some of your bees to me, i am at the end of the Northern Line at Mill Hill East

i think it depends on your bees, i have one hive that builds comb in its rapid feeder and the api eke currently looks like 11 mini Himalayas

I could do, but whereas they dont build brace comb above the crownboard, they are propolis queens in the rest of the hive!

 

[SixFooter]

Just have a look in local skips as you pass - there's always discarded ply.

Ah but the ply is there so they can get more junk in the skip, so you might upset a big burly builder if you pinch his "greedy boards"

 

[Worldsend]

Ive seen a lot of crown boards that appear to be identical to local esate agents "For sale "signs, very easy to cut to size --funny,they all appear to have local phone numbers on them!