spare equipment

[chickendave]

As I make all my hives I have enough parts to double up on the number of colonies I keep at the moment
The only equipment I did run out of this year was nuc boxes so I will be making another seven during the winter

 

[Hombre]

I find ChickenDave, that during the winter neither me or the glue want to work in the workshop as it's too cold and the polyurethane glue doesn't want to squirt. I do now use a lot more PVA and take it from a bulk 10 litre drum into a plastic jar before liberally lashing it on anything that wants to but together - before drilling and screwing. I found that drilling and screwing occasionally pulled things out of square, so now i glue them first and they get to be square without any chance of being pulled out of shape by the screws due to an iffy angled cut.

I take heart from the statement that the glue sets stronger than the wood . . .

I just about remain ahead of the curve, albeit with a little juggling. Close thing at times.

In my year one I was late with my spare hives and lost two clipped queens.

 

[Hombre]

A problem with having enough equipment to meet contingencies is the lack of space to keep them in when the feeders and supers come back in during the winter. It ends up that you know you have it, but what is it under and where?

 

[chickendave]

I find ChickenDave, that during the winter neither me or the glue want to work in the workshop as it's too cold and the polyurethane glue doesn't want to squirt. I do now use a lot more PVA and take it from a bulk 10 litre drum into a plastic jar before liberally lashing it on anything that wants to but together - before drilling and screwing. I found that drilling and screwing occasionally pulled things out of square, so now i glue them first and they get to be square without any chance of being pulled out of shape by the screws due to an iffy angled cut.

I take heart from the statement that the glue sets stronger than the wood . . .

I just about remain ahead of the curve, albeit with a little juggling. Close thing at times.

In my year one I was late with my spare hives and lost two clipped queens.

Hi Hombre
I have a nice little pot bellied wood burner in my workshop so the cold is not really a issue
I would agree about the polyurethane glue but as I only use the waterproof PVA so it's not a problem. Do you still drill and screw after the glue has cured? as I would not trust just the glue to hold the joints

 

[starflex]

I always think I have enough kit after the Winter Sales, but it always seems to get overtaken by events! It was the two swarms I collected that did for my spare equipment.

Not to worry, £hornes are only 10 minutes down the road , and it will soon be the 9th October sale.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Being a new bee keeper with only one colony, after buying this that and the other over the last few months I thought I'd overdone it with the amount of spare kit I had in the shed (now thinking I need a lot more with an extra - I hope colony and nuc )now panicking with no spare brood box and floors!! got plenty of crown/clearer boards though!!

 

[starflex]

Not to worry, £hornes are only 10 minutes down the road , and it will soon be the 9th October sale.

I think I mean the 8th of Oct

 

[czar1960]

i have 8 spare full national, i just enjoy making them and lucky enough to have lots of free wood.

 

[Hombre]

Hi Hombre
I have a nice little pot bellied wood burner in my workshop so the cold is not really a issue
I would agree about the polyurethane glue but as I only use the waterproof PVA so it's not a problem. Do you still drill and screw after the glue has cured? as I would not trust just the glue to hold the joints

It's been a while, sorry; but to answer your question, I could do with a wee pot bellied wood burner to keep me warm, but would probably end up burning the place down.

Yes, I place two 50mm x 4mm screws in the each end of the top and bottom rails after the glue has filled in all the irregularities and has everything held square. [ sixteen screws per box - super, standard or 14x12 ].

 

[susbees]

I have a purple one

Show off...

 

[Erichalfbee]

I painted my new MB hive purple.
BUT thought it stood out too much so it's now brown

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Trouble with spare kit is that it gets used and then needs replacing. A simple one hive setup has its spare used up the first AS and things spiral out of control from then on!

 

[drstitson]

can't go wrong with a Smart car full of spares!

 

[SimonP]

The problem with my 'spares' is that they nearly all need some sort of repair

 

[winmag270]

I have a purple one

dont worry, you can get tablets to sort that out.....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

can't go wrong with a Smart car full of spares!

And if you're really short of spares it could suffice instead of a 14x12 national

 

[PlanB]

How much though?

I'm new to bk, how much spare do you need? just the more the meerrier?