Top Bar Hive

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Note the length dimension of 36 inch does not add up up a 4th multiple of 1.25 inch. Do you adjust the actual used length using the follower boards so that you never have a totally full hive full of top bars?

as they are home made any slack can be taken up using another piece of wood, my 4ft hive holds around 29. 35mm bars plus 2 follower boards plus 4x national frames

just thought of an idea, two L shaped brackets bent over to make hooks, a pair of pram wheels, roll wheels up-to legs fix brackets 4" below where the axle is, lift roll wheels under brackets go around other side lift and push like pram

can just see me wheeling it the 11 miles to allotment
 
Found today when I went to get some wood for some ekes that B&!! dont cut narrow timber so will not be using them to my TBH!
 
Found today when I went to get some wood for some ekes that B&!! dont cut narrow timber so will not be using them to my TBH!


I picked up a router table (without router) from evil bay, mounted a normal skill saw upside down in it, it then gives you a safety cut out switch, all my top bar hives have been made from 6x1 and cutting into smaller sizes
 
Have the necessary woodworking tools to cut the wood its just getting it home that is the problem. With luck will get time to go to my local wood yard tomorrow to see what they have.

Know they sell cedar but not sure of its cost or widths available
 
Router table and cedar are terms I do not recognise when discussing TBH construction.. Bodging and pallets are my vocabulary :bigear:
 
Have the necessary woodworking tools to cut the wood its just getting it home that is the problem. With luck will get time to go to my local wood yard tomorrow to see what they have.

Know they sell cedar but not sure of its cost or widths available

A local independent wood yard usually is prepared to supply the wood to your requirements (size wise).

Cedar for my 48" TBH (sides, ends, legs and top bars) came to £35 - 40. 1" thick sides and ends, 4 X 3 legs.
 
Note the length dimension of 36 inch does not add up up a 4th multiple of 1.25 inch. Do you adjust the actual used length using the follower boards so that you never have a totally full hive full of top bars?

Why 1 1/4" ? Phil Chandler specs 1 3/8", but he's recently come to realise that his recommended measurements may be wrong.

Suggest you use 1.5" (38mm) for brood (same as Langstroth, British National etc), with 46-48mm for stores.

To save making-up 2 lots of bars, and to make them more easily inter-changeable, consider all at 38mm, with a fist-full of 8-10mm thick shims (to insert and thus 'widen' the 38mm bars).

But anyway, to answer the second part of your question - if you use partition boards at both ends of 'the stack', then chosen bar width isn't an issue. With such boards in place, you can then make inspections of brood, or remove/replace honey comb, without shuffling through the whole stack in order to reach the end you're interested in.

Having said that, some folks don't use 'em at all.

LJ
 

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