National plans

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Heather

Queen Bee
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
4,131
Reaction score
128
Location
Newick, East Sussex
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
6
I have a carpenter who wants to build hives for me :sifone:- but I can only find plans that are very rudimentary. And yes I have searched before one or two say- (you know who you are)!

Can anyone tell me of a plan that gives exact measurements with lots of detail of floor, brood and super boxes and roof, bearing in mind he isn't a beekeeper....

Thank you in advance if you can help with this info
 
Talking from experience Heather he will be happy with the plans but much more happy if you have a spare hive for him to copy.
 
I always think buying an item to make is worth every penny.
Much better than a drawing.
 
The national plans supplied by the bbka are accurate ( not too rudimentary for a joiner) , however Thornes catalogue has assembly illustrations for national hives which a child could understand :D.

John Wilkinson
 
Good point Tom.

John, I cannot find the link from BBKA :eek: could you please email me the appropriate page - thanks.
 
dont forget Dave Cushmans site good for lots f drawings of various hive items
:cheers2:
 
a bit late but I use these plans and I find them very good indeed. they are supers and 14*12 brood national. IMO they are the best I have found. I have modified the 14*12 so it is a normal brood. I make my supers and brood from these plans using plywood.

click here
 
I make my own varoa floors using mesh bought from these guys on ebay. click here. The floor outside dimensions are 460mm square. This mesh is 450mm square and is spot on.
 
Nat Plans

Heather,

I used a book called "Build It" by Joe Jordan published by The Good Life Press. It has a chapter on building a BS Nat, a nuc and a TBH, using ext ply, butt jointed. The finished product is utilitarian rather than impressive but serves its' purpose well. I built 4 Brood Boxes using one sheet of ply, with extra planed timber at an unit cost of 15 pounds. I'd recommend it.

Wojciech
 
I think you need to define a sheet. I would expect to get rather more than 4 brood boxes from one sheet (1220x2440). I am guessing half a dozen and probably a super as well from the one sheet?

Regards, RAB
 
I think you need to define a sheet. I would expect to get rather more than 4 brood boxes from one sheet (1220x2440). I am guessing half a dozen and probably a super as well from the one sheet?

Regards, RAB

Sorry I did'nt mention the supers, floors and rooves !!

As for the unit cost, that was based on a sheet bought in a local timber yard cut to size for me. I subsequently bought a couple of sheets fromJacksons when they were having a special offer and intend to cut them up with a circular saw.

REgrds,

Wojciech
 

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