Hi,
I make my own hives top to bottom.
For the boxes I use 18mm hardwood ply (not marine) and pine for the cross bars.
I make a simplified version. There are no joints on the end of the sides or bars, they are just butted to the boards.
For a brood:
18mm ply,
2 x (434mm x 225mm)
2 x (460mm x 225mm)
The top and bottom bars are all 434mm long pine.
First I cut 4 blanks that are (44mm high x 26mm wide) (26mm side is the top/bottom)
For the 2 top bars I do a cut out 13mm wide and 18mm high from the top.
For the 2 bottom bars I do a cut out 13mm wide and 6mm high from the bottom. Then I cut the angled edge on the opposite corner to finish off the bottom bars.
I screw together with dry wall screws. 3 on each corner to hold the ply together. 1 through the ply into the end of each bar. Then 3 from the inside into each bar.
For super, the same except 150 mm high.
For a 5 frame nuc (+ dummy board) alter to 254 mm wide.
They are cheap and quick to make. The only down side is that they are heavy compared to ceder.
I saw a video where an old school beekeeper with 50+ years experience from the US was comparing 2 kinds of boxes he had. One lot had the classic joints the other was butted, glued and screwed. He was showing how the butted ones were out lasting the jointed ones. He made the case that the rot always starts at the joints. I have seen Don TFBM say something very similar.
With the strength of screws, all those fancy joints are just not necessary in my opinion.
I call it the Simplified Modified British National Standard Hive. Or Smodified National for short. I did not invent it, I saw others making them on you tube and copied.
One tip, don't trust the diy stores to cut ply to the accuracy required for bee hives. Get them to cut everything bigger than you require so you can trim it to size at home.
