My First Hive

[rbaz]

I have just finished building (with my Fathers help) my first hive ready for next near
Its a Dadant Blatt I purchased 2 supers, an Ashforth feeder and the frames as they where very cheap in the shops but made the floor brood box and roof.
It has an under floor entrance and an open mesh floor with a removable solid tray.
The roof is insulated and pitched to help with the rain we get plenty here in Brittany too.
Haven't made a stand for it yet as not decided where it is going.

 

[Mike a]

Looking at the last picture (right hand side) be careful when you lift out and replace the frames you don't crush or roll any bees against the side wall. Ideally you should have an even gap of about 6mm from top to bottom of the frame.

Double check your frames are square before you use them.

Other than that it looks very good.

 

[rbaz]

Thanks for that.
After checking the frames and the box at least 3 frames are out of square the box is perfect.
I will straighten them and try to strengthen them so they dont move. Very easy to get them to twist. Once the foundation is on will they will be much stronger?

Thanks again for the advice

 

[MJBee]

Nice job.

A friend of mine has the French Dadant and we found the French system of castelated spacers and the staples at the bottom a pain. The frame has to be lowered vertically and it is very easy to roll bees (and the queen!). The staples at the bottom are to stop the frames swinging when the hive is moved.

If you are not planning migratory beekeeping I would recommend:-
A. removing the staples completely.
B. replacing the castelated spacers with a smooth metal strip. This allows the frames to be slid apart and together. Hoffman converter clips (available from Th**nes solve the spacing.
Good luck Mike

 

[rbaz]

Thanks MJBee not something I had thought about I just copied it as it was in the shop. I can probably turn the spacing strip over. They aren't staples (the cheaper ones had them) its one long bar that pushes into a slot so very easy to remove.

Thanks again guys for the advice

 

[kazmcc]

rbaz, a very good job I would love to have the skills to build a decent hive, alas, they'd probably end up better off in a crisp bag box than any of my efforts

If you are ever passing by Manchester, with some wood and your tool box, and your father, would you mind building me one? Hee hee, happy bees.

 

[barratt_sab]

Looks good - I was happy having built a frame feeder, so hats off to you and your father!

I'd second MJB's comments re castelated spacers - if you can't turn them over, you could get some metal frame runners to replace them. Two of our hives have a chamfer on the wall to produce a ridge to put the frames on and it's not as good as a metal runner (but IMHO easier than castelations).

If you can't find any, try peak hives (nothing to do with me) - but check that they are the right length for your box.