Hive Assembly ??

[SuffolkPaul]

UPDATE

With the use of Clamps, Nylon hammer, and set square I'm now within 1-2mm corner to corner on my BB and 2 x Supers, and they look a lot better already. I've still got "gaps" (between boxes) which i shall sort out at the weekend, when i have natural light to work in. I shall plane the rails as these are the offending parts

Thanks for all the guidance everyone, very much appreciated.

Best Paul

 

[Swarm]

Check before you plane them that it won't affect the bee space.

 

[ugcheleuce]

Use a good set square and you will do fine.

The "get a good set square" method has an additional ingredient, though: perfectly cut hive parts.

 

[REDWOOD]

cosine rule (I think I did it at OA level rather than O level).

Tangent, sine and cosine were taught at 'O' level. As were log tables, long multiplication and division, etc.

RAB

I think I still have my log book somewhere, and a slide rule

 

[Little John]

With the use of Clamps, Nylon hammer, and set square I'm now within 1-2mm corner to corner on my BB and 2 x Supers, and they look a lot better already.

I hope you realise that this is the thin edge of the wedge ? Once you start buying tools, there'll be no stopping ... Circular saw, table saw, table router, various sanders, even more clamps - oh boy, will you become addicted.

Welcome to the club.
LJ

 

[REDWOOD]

UPDATE

With the use of Clamps, Nylon hammer, and set square I'm now within 1-2mm corner to corner on my BB and 2 x Supers, and they look a lot better already. I've still got "gaps" (between boxes) which i shall sort out at the weekend, when i have natural light to work in. I shall plane the rails as these are the offending parts

Thanks for all the guidance everyone, very much appreciated.

Best Paul

You would be better off adding a thin piece of wood rather than take away wood from the other sides which will affect bee space. If you cant find a bit of wood thin enough, glue a thicker piece in and plane that down

 

[Swarm]

You would be better off adding a thin piece of wood rather than take away wood from the other sides which will affect bee space. If you cant find a bit of wood thin enough, glue a thicker piece in and plane that down

Absolutely, you can bet the rebate in the bottom rail is correct bee space.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think I still have my log book somewhere, and a slide rule

Heavens, yes. We should have kept them to become antiques.
I was hopeless at maths so was in the bottom set in grammar school and escaped having to learn calculus.
Similarly...but not related to my lack of prowess in maths I escaped, by one year, having the English syllabus changed from Shakespeare to Chaucer, a happenstance I am eternally grateful for

 

[bontbee]

May I ask where the hive parts came from? Thanks

 

[SuffolkPaul]

I got both a Cedar National Hive from EASIPET via Amazon

&

National Deep Brood Box from EASIPET via Ebay.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I think I still have my log book somewhere, and a slide rule

I recall going to Browns bookshop in Hull as a child at junior school. My father bought himself a book of 5figure logarithm tables. He showed me how to use them to do multiplication and division at 8years old. It was about 5 years later school lessons gave an opportunity to use the knowledge.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

UPDATE

With the use of Clamps, Nylon hammer, and set square I'm now within 1-2mm corner to corner on my BB and 2 x Supers, and they look a lot better already. I've still got "gaps" (between boxes) which i shall sort out at the weekend, when i have natural light to work in. I shall plane the rails as these are the offending parts

Thanks for all the guidance everyone, very much appreciated.

Best Paul

Paul

Before you start planing material off the super, I'd be inclined to send your photographs to Easipet, via Ebay and set up a complaint - there is clearly a fault with the supplied parts, probably the rebate cut in the wrong place. The chances are that they will send you another one, then you can play with you current super to try to correct it and it won't cost you anything. The Ebay complaints procedure is very good and I've had no problems in getting stuff replaced when mistakes have been made (I got a free bed when they sent the wrong size and did not want to come to dismantle and collect).

If you're intent on correcting it without the involvement of Ebay and Easypet, I'd put a frame inside the super and check what the beespace would be if you planed one side. If that 1.5-2.0mm gap goes along the whole length of the side, I'd be inclined to to add a shim of wood, then plane that down to the other sides' level. The important thing, which I have learned to my cost, is to work off a perfectly flat surface. You can then see whether both opposite sides are the same, whether it's only one side, whether there's a twist in how you've assembled it, etc.. You want to be sure that planing one area will not set up a rocking motion when placed on a flat surface. As my old woodwork teacher used to say "Measure twice and cut once"

CVB

 

[SuffolkPaul]

I have now procured a set of "Feeler Gauges" (more equipment) and I intend to place a frame in my BB and also a Frame in my super and place my super on the Brood box then i can use feeler Gauges to measure the space between the bottom of the super frame to the top of the Brood frame. I hope this will be between 6.00mm and 9.00mm, although i shall aim for 7.5mm +/- 0.1mm

I believe the above refers to my good self constructing a National Hive with "bottom" bee space?

I suspect i may get my hive assembled by the end of March!!

Best to All

Paul

 

[SuffolkPaul]

CVB

Thanks for the Support and Advice. In fact I have had many replacement parts sent to me from Easipet, as the Hive arrived with damage, cracked parts, ect. To be fair they replaced everything i asked for, but i suspect the issue is QA /QC as the parts are not precision made as far as can see.

 

[For want of a better word]

CVB

Thanks for the Support and Advice. In fact I have had many replacement parts sent to me from Easipet, as the Hive arrived with damage, cracked parts, ect. To be fair they replaced everything i asked for, but i suspect the issue is QA /QC as the parts are not precision made as far as can see.

Chinese stuff usually is of half good quality.... suspect timber sources tho!
Buyer bee ware

Myttin da

 

[MadAnt]

Chinese stuff usually is of half good quality.... suspect timber sources tho!
Buyer bee ware

Myttin da

Was it made in China and imported? :shock:

 

[REDWOOD]

Was it made in China and imported? :shock:

Unfortunately there is a lot of cheap inferior beekeeping products from China flying about in the UK and many new beekeepers seem to get stung by not only bees. If you want a cheap alternative buy seconds for one of the british suppliers as they will be far superior to anything china would produce. what seems to be lacking out there is quality control, but if it was introduced their reject pile would be bigger than their export pile and that would mean high prices and nobody would by them

 

[SuffolkPaul]

Regretting this purchase

Well the parts pretty much look like a bee hive now.......... which did perk me up a little. I have no gaps even between the different boxes.

My issue now is bee space. I'm I right in thinking that the top bars in the Brood box should be distanced 8mm from the bottom of the frames in a super? and that 8mm is best but anywhere between 6mm and 9mm would be ok?

best to all

 

[REDWOOD]

9mm is the best, that is the correct bee space

 

[Little John]

8mm is best but anywhere between 6mm and 9mm would be ok?

Yes - pretty-much. The size of 'THE bee-space' is one of those perennial disputes. But bees vary in size, therefore the bee-space has a range of values. Smaller bees = smaller bee-spaces (obviously).

I run Top-Bee-space, and aim for 8mm at the top of the box, and 1mm at the bottom (so that the frames don't clunk onto anything during box movements) - but those spaces gradually change in time with propolis build-up, as I don't always bother with runners.
LJ