Hive stand

[user 21522]

Being new to bee keeping there is so much information out there, i built a hive stand from left over wood in the garden, it's ok but nothing to write home about, i want to eventaully have around 4 hives, My garden is not very big and 1 corner is taken up by the pond, been keeping Japanese koi for 15 years, anyway I came across a site on the net of hive stand that I think is very cool, the selling point for me was that the height can be adjusted if your floor is uneven, saves you putting rocks and other stuff to level the stand, i had some 4x2 timber around so I gave it a go, sanded the wood and gave it 2 coat of linseed oil, the scaffold jacks can be adjusted upto 500mm, I've just adjusted all 4 and the level is perfect, tomorrow I go and pick up my first colony of bees.
Sorry if this post is in the wrong section

 

[pargyle]

Being new to bee keeping there is so much information out there, i built a hive stand from left over wood in the garden, it's ok but nothing to write home about, i want to eventaully have around 4 hives, My garden is not very big and 1 corner is taken up by the pond, been keeping Japanese koi for 15 years, anyway I came across a site on the net of hive stand that I think is very cool, the selling point for me was that the height can be adjusted if your floor is uneven, saves you putting rocks and other stuff to level the stand, i had some 4x2 timber around so I gave it a go, sanded the wood and gave it 2 coat of linseed oil, the scaffold jacks can be adjusted upto 500mm, I've just adjusted all 4 and the level is perfect, tomorrow I go and pick up my first colony of bees.
Sorry if this post is in the wrong section

Very neat solution .... Here's mine ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125609724@N03/albums/72157651752848654

 

[Mabee]

I have done something similar in an uneven out apiary but I ended up slotting a (reduced in width) pallet over them which rests on the metal rests on the scaffolding. It works well, I also used some metal stakes to ensure it doesn’t move.

 

[user 21522]

Very neat solution .... Here's mine ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125609724@N03/albums/72157651752848654

Very well made and solid

 

[JimBee463]

Interestingly The Apiarist showed a very similar design in his blog: The ultimate hive stand? - The Apiarist

 

[Wilco]

Being new to bee keeping there is so much information out there, i built a hive stand from left over wood in the garden, it's ok but nothing to write home about, i want to eventaully have around 4 hives, My garden is not very big and 1 corner is taken up by the pond, been keeping Japanese koi for 15 years, anyway I came across a site on the net of hive stand that I think is very cool, the selling point for me was that the height can be adjusted if your floor is uneven, saves you putting rocks and other stuff to level the stand, i had some 4x2 timber around so I gave it a go, sanded the wood and gave it 2 coat of linseed oil, the scaffold jacks can be adjusted upto 500mm, I've just adjusted all 4 and the level is perfect, tomorrow I go and pick up my first colony of bees.
Sorry if this post is in the wrong section

Can you dot the hives around the pond so the entrances face onto it? Dead bees get fed to the koi!

Like the stand idea.

 

[enrico]

A tip for those making their own stands. Always make sure that the wood the have stands on is on top of the legs. You can get a terrific weight and if you just screw the legs onto the side the screws can perish and the stand can collapse. All the weight needs to be on top of the legs. I stand mine on gate matting which is available from farm stores. It is light weight but strong about 2m x1m big.spreads weight nicely and stops them sinking into the ground

 

[JamezF]

The idea on the Apiarist site for using old tyres is a handy one. I reckon I'd probably use a pair with rails between rather than supporting a single hive, though obviously in these straitened times not having to buy timber is a bonus.

And as it happens, next to my house there's a huge stack of hundreds of old tyres that our neighbouring farmer is trying to hide in the undergrowth since he stopped using them for his silage clamp and didn't want to pay to dispose of them as the law requires.

James

 

[user 21522]

Interestingly The Apiarist showed a very similar design in his blog: The ultimate hive stand? - The Apiarist

That's the website I came across, very informative site

 

[simonwig]

the scaffold jacks can be adjusted upto 500mm

Hi

I've done the same (based on the Apiarist article), 500mm for my Nucs, but I've used shorter jacks, 300mm for my hives as I prefer them lower, and they're slightly cheaper.

I used 75X75, 2.4m fence posts as they were cheaper than 4X2 from my cheapest timber supplier.

Simon

 

[user 21522]

Hi

I've done the same (based on the Apiarist article), 500mm for my Nucs, but I've used shorter jacks, 300mm for my hives as I prefer them lower, and they're slightly cheaper.

I used 75X75, 2.4m fence posts as they were cheaper than 4X2 from my cheapest timber supplier.

Simon

I've used 3x3 timber as they were just not being used, i am now thinking of adding 2 more jacks for the middle support and add 2 more 4x2 timber for both ends, and another 3x3 in the middle length wise for for strengh, picked up the colony couple of hours ago and have placed the hive on the stand.

 

[rossbyjove]

The idea on the Apiarist site for using old tyres is a handy one. I reckon I'd probably use a pair with rails between rather than supporting a single hive, though obviously in these straitened times not having to buy timber is a bonus.

And as it happens, next to my house there's a huge stack of hundreds of old tyres that our neighbouring farmer is trying to hide in the undergrowth since he stopped using them for his silage clamp and didn't want to pay to dispose of them as the law requires.

James

I built a a couple of 'Cushman' design hive stands and use the tyres to grow potatoes in.

 

[Pembroke]

The idea on the Apiarist site for using old tyres is a handy one. I reckon I'd probably use a pair with rails between rather than supporting a single hive, though obviously in these straitened times not having to buy timber is a bonus.

And as it happens, next to my house there's a huge stack of hundreds of old tyres that our neighbouring farmer is trying to hide in the undergrowth since he stopped using them for his silage clamp and didn't want to pay to dispose of them as the law requires.

James

For years my first hive was on an old plastic milk crate, it then had a 1.5cm thick plastic honey comb sheet between it and the solid floor of the hive.

 

[BeeAdmin]

Being new to bee keeping there is so much information out there, i built a hive stand from left over wood in the garden, it's ok but nothing to write home about, i want to eventaully have around 4 hives, My garden is not very big and 1 corner is taken up by the pond, been keeping Japanese koi for 15 years, anyway I came across a site on the net of hive stand that I think is very cool, the selling point for me was that the height can be adjusted if your floor is uneven, saves you putting rocks and other stuff to level the stand, i had some 4x2 timber around so I gave it a go, sanded the wood and gave it 2 coat of linseed oil, the scaffold jacks can be adjusted upto 500mm, I've just adjusted all 4 and the level is perfect, tomorrow I go and pick up my first colony of bees.
Sorry if this post is in the wrong section

Brilliant idea. Is that designed to accommodate 4 hives?

 

[user 21522]

Brilliant idea. Is that designed to accommodate 4 hives?

I don't know what distance to keep the hives apart, if I leave 18" gap then 3 fit perfectly.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don't know what distance to keep the hives apart, if I leave 18" gap then 3 fit perfectly.

You need a little more than 18 inches. You need space to put a roof down and to put a super 45 degrees to it.

 

[BeeAdmin]

I don't know what distance to keep the hives apart, if I leave 18" gap then 3 fit perfectly.

That's the beauty of DIY. Can make adjustments or make another?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You need a little more than 18 inches

many would disagree - SWMBO for one.

You can keep hives a few inches apart, no problem, although my three hive stands are built for three hives a few inches apart and I usually keep the middle slot free for putting a roof on, I have before now had three colonies in full hives live there happily

 

[enrico]

Remember if one falls over.....pack of cards job..... Been there and done that. Worst day of my beekeeping life!

 

[Erichalfbee]

many would disagree - SWMBO for one.

You can keep hives a few inches apart, no problem, although my three hive stands are built for three hives a few inches apart and I usually keep the middle slot free for putting a roof on, I have before now had three colonies in full hives live there happily

So have I and I have a moveable hive cosy I use to put stuff on but it really is useful to have the extra space