Making beehives

[BKF Admin]

This spring I purchased a Nuc box from Ebay with the idea of raising bees during the summer then transfering to a national hive.

Plan B is to now copy the nuc to make 7-8 others for next year.

I purchased a tool table from Machinemart that you can bolt underneath a circular saw and a router.

I made a couple of National broodboxes from 18mm ply that I am using this winter.

Just for fun I also made a 14 x 12 box that is sitting in the garage.

Pic of brood boxes back in september:

 

[Finman]

.
have you thought that the sun heat quite much the dark color in the wall?
Part of bees stop working when hive is too hot.

 

[BKF Admin]

Thats a good point Finman,I just copied others

 

[Markbee]

Look good.

Are those bits of laminated sheets hive markers?

And I never see the point of landing boards, like in your picture the bees just go all over the frontof the hives.

 

[Hivemaker.]

In the summer when the entrance blocks are out the bee's would run up the alighting boards,instead of heavily laden bee's crashing into the grass,and in spring/autumn its a help to bee's that may otherwise become chilled on there return.

 

[Markbee]

Also I notice the reducing blocks are in upside down! (or at least the other way up to the way I fit them) any reason why?

I fit them with the gap at the bottom so it is easy for them to get rubbish out

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes i allways have them the other way for the same reason,and to make sure moisture can run out if on solid floors and the block swells,in some books i have seen they seem to have some notion that if bee's fall from the cluster and die the entrance will not get blocked so easily if they are this way round,but i have never found this to be so.

 

[Polyanwood]

How hard was it to make them with the router and the saw table admin? Husband owns these things (well he always said WE owned these things... but now I suspect he was being polite) he reckons that I would end up in A+E if I have a go myself.... what do you reckon? Dangerous or not?

 

[victor meldrew]

Dangerous , definately.
until suitably instructed, it is unwise to jump in feet first

John

 

[Polyanwood]

Well thanks.. that is good news and bad news... good news that he is not treating the router like the Precious out of Lord of the Rings... bad that I am going to have to keep shelling out buying stuff.

 

[victor meldrew]

What's wrong with the old British compromise ?
Get him to do the machining on your shared machine.

John

 

[Hivemaker.]

Why not go to a few evening woodworking classes,it would come in really usful to you, to learn some of these things,then you could make some stuff for Victor and me.

 

[Polyanwood]

Good idea. Woodwork classes it might have to be

 

[Hivemaker.]

My other half makes loads of things and uses some quite dangerous tools now,like planer thicknessers and table saws,yet a couple of years ago she had never even used much more than a hammer,she really loves all this woodwork,says it makes a change from other round the house jobs. I think its just the novelty of doing somthing different.

 

[Polyanwood]

Yes it is the challenge of learning to do something new that is fun.

 

[Finman]

.
It is interesting that landing board devides beekeepers deeply into 2 camps.
Why? Do as you like

I like landing boards. Cool. I use too bigger landing boar in front of hive.
It is full of bees when nectar flow is heavy. It hinder too the hay growing in front of entrance.

Same with upper entrance. I use it but many "hate" it and invent what ever harms to it.



.

 

[mikethebee]

hivemaker
My other half makes loads of things and uses some quite dangerous tools now,like planer thicknessers and table saws,yet a couple of years ago she had never even used much more than a hammer,she really loves all this woodwork,says it makes a change from other round the house jobs. I think its just the novelty of doing somthing different.
-----------------------------------------
What else she do for you?? She make the tea light a fag for you slippers? whilst you play with the bees on the computer? an hers slaving away making them hives
SOUNDS like you don’t know what side your butters on my boy.

what you got i ant darling.