Hive plans/drawings.

[Mwsedgwick]

Hi

Going to have a go at building a hive (full with floors, supers etc.) And wondered if anyone had any decent plans and drawings?

I've had a quick look online and found some old National plans but wondered if anyone I hear has built them and could share plans.

Thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

go on to Dave cushman's site, the plans are on there - nothing much has changed since VE day

 

[Newbeeneil]

I agree with JBM. If it's national hives you are after this give you everything you need.
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/natdrawings.html
It's what I use for mine.

 

[dn170221]

The Dave cushman web site will give you loads of plans and advice. What material were you thinking of using?

 

[bobba]

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.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

If you decide to build your own, you can make hives with top bee space, which is non-standard for many commercial hive manufacturers. I prefer top bee space as I think less bees are injured during inspections with TBS.

I have made hives out of exterior grade plywood - quite heavy - and PIR rigid insulation - I found my bees chewed holes in this.

You could also make under-floor entrances which are a brilliant invention. There might be a sticky somewhere with JBM's version of a UFE.

CVB

 

[Newbeeneil]

I agree with Bobba that joints are not really necessary, I don't have the required machinery for forming them so I use the Cushman dimensions and glue and screw the junctions.
I tried using 18mm ply at first but found that they were very heavy and delaminated after a year or so no matter how well I tried to protect the ends. I now use cedar boards that I buy direct from a saw mill and join with polyurethane glue and stainless steel screws. Nice and light and strong.

 

[bobba]

"I agree with Bobba" - Thanks Newbeeneil, I thought I would get roasted for saying the fancy joints are not needed.

The dimensions I provided are sightly different to the the ones on the Dave cushman site. I tried the Dave cushman's dimensions. But I discovered all the 18mm ply I could find is usual closer to 17mm. So my dimensions will give the frames a better fit if using ply.

I treated mine with epoxy resin and so far so good, but I have only had 1 winter so far.

How much do you pay for the cedar boards direct from a saw mill?

 

[B+.]

go on to Dave cushman's site, the plans are on there - nothing much has changed since VE day

Sadly, it's not been Dave Cushmans website for a long time. Most of it has Roger Patterson stamped all over it.

Dave was an engineer, a good one, and I think that shows in his drawings but I find his website has lost much of its' credibility since his death. I knew Dave quite well and I'm sure he'd be quite upset by more recent postings.

 

[Newbeeneil]

How much do you pay for the cedar boards direct from a saw mill?

I pay £17 cu ft plus vat. Which I understand is very cheap. Some on here have quoted about £50.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sadly, it's not been Dave Cushmans website for a long time. Most of it has Roger Patterson stamped all over it.

Dave was an engineer, a good one, and I think that shows in his drawings but I find his website has lost much of its' credibility since his death. I knew Dave quite well and I'm sure he'd be quite upset by more recent postings.

 

[bobba]

"I pay £17 cu ft plus vat. Which I understand is very cheap. Some on here have quoted about £50. "

What does that work out roughly per super/brood box?

And do you use ceder for the bars too?

For anyone interested a finished Ply super weighs 3.1 kg and a brood 4.25 kg.

I would like to use a lighter material. But my Ply supers come in at under £5 per box and broods a shave over £9, including runners, screws and resin.

Ply is definitely a great way to get started with hive making if you are woodworking noob like me. But now I have a bit of experience I am interested in upgrading to a lighter material if its not too expensive.