What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[Newbeeneil]

Made up some of my “butterfly” frames to use on a cut out next week.


I run top and side bars down the middle glue and staple the halves together, hinge the bottom with tape and string with fishing line.
When you remove a piece of comb you just lay it in one side and the close it up and hang in the hive.

 

[The Poot]

Made up some of my “butterfly” frames to use on a cut out next week.

View attachment 40977View attachment 40978
I run top and side bars down the middle glue and staple the halves together, hinge the bottom with tape and string with fishing line.
When you remove a piece of comb you just lay it in one side and the close it up and hang in the hive.

It’s an interesting life you lead….

 

[BigAshW]

Getting ready for harvest. Have added casters to the extractor legs one of which has a brake on. I'm hoping it will dampen out the vibrations allowing me to uncap the next batch whole it's spinning out.

 

[North End Bees]

I'm hoping it will dampen out the vibrations allowing me to uncap the next batch whole it's spinning out.

The spinning time is cup of tea time!

 

[Newbeeneil]

The spinning time is cup of tea time!

No it’s uncapping the next 12 frames time!!!!

 

[pargyle]

As I'm going to try and clear the supers off the hives (a la Swarm) and I didn't have anything suitable for them to sit on whilst they clear I knocked up a stand to take two piles of supers...not my best carpentry and perhaps a bit over engineered but I'm hoping for some really heavy supers (sigh....). Rain stopped play so it needs a coat of preservative... despite three sheds and a double garage I have no indoor space for working on anything bigger than a matchbox !

Running true to form I could not find my second cordless drill - I find swapping drill bits and countersink bits really annoying. When I scrambled to get all.my tools back in the garage when the rain started I moved a box I had looked in and there it was...those bloody pixies playing with me again.

Not in the workshop but in my big green storage shed ...made space to hide the boxes coming from Paynes..or at least make them less visible. Confessed to 'er indoors about the imminent delivery and I'm just about thawed out now ! Marginally better than being turned to stone when they arrived unannounced next week.

 

[The Poot]

As I'm going to try and clear the supers off the hives (a la Swarm) and I didn't have anything suitable for them to sit on whilst they clear I knocked up a stand to take two piles of supers...not my best carpentry and perhaps a bit over engineered but I'm hoping for some really heavy supers (sigh....). Rain stopped play so it needs a coat of preservative... despite three sheds and a double garage I have no indoor space for working on anything bigger than a matchbox !

Running true to form I could not find my second cordless drill - I find swapping drill bits and countersink bits really annoying. When I scrambled to get all.my tools back in the garage when the rain started I moved a box I had looked in and there it was...those bloody pixies playing with me again.

Not in the workshop but in my big green storage shed ...made space to hide the boxes coming from Paynes..or at least make them less visible. Confessed to 'er indoors about the imminent delivery and I'm just about thawed out now ! Marginally better than being turned to stone when they arrived unannounced next week.

So, where’s that going to be stored after they’ve all cleared?

 

[pargyle]

Ahhh... I have a plan ... some of my spare kit is stored behind the workshop on top of a couple of tea chests to keep it off the ground. The tea chests are disintegrating...so it will replace them ...dual purpose !

 

[Erichalfbee]

As I'm going to try and clear the supers off the hives (a la Swarm

Works really well if the weather is good. I didn’t put a clearer on the top though

 

[pargyle]

Works really well if the weather is good. I didn’t put a clearer on the top though

Keepimg my fingers crossed for next weekend ..

 

[North End Bees]

As I'm going to try and clear the supers off the hives (a la Swarm)

What is 'a la Swarm'?
Sorry if recently mentioned, this is such a long thread it's easy to miss chunks.

 

[Erichalfbee]

What is 'a la Swarm'?
Sorry if recently mentioned, this is such a long thread it's easy to miss chunks.

Somebody here mentioned you could clear supers off the hive. Sorry can’t remember who. I said I was going to try it. Swarm said you could put a clearer board flipped over on the top too. So that’s hive stand, clearer, supers, flipped clearer.
Then somebody added that you could mix supers from different hives.

 

[North End Bees]

Thanks Dani, missed more than I thought!
So what are the bees clearing into? Just straight out the bottom?

 

[JamezF]

Been meaning to get this done for ages... This afternoon I put together a prototype five-frame nuc box made (mostly) from PIR. The intention is that two will fit under a standard National roof and that they're stackable (so it's possible to create a "five-over-five" arrangement if required). There's still a bit left to do (not least making UFE floors and crownboards), but I got a fair bit done.

I think the timber parts can be made not so deep and the thin wall sections at the end of the frame lugs could be a little thicker as there's a reasonable amount of play there at the moment. I can't decide whether to allow space to use frame runners or not. I'll seal the joints and cut faces with aluminium tape and see if I can talk my daughter into painting them with whatever left-over paint we can find in the workshop.

In terms of cost I reckon they'll be really quite cheap. I estimate that I could get at least 30 boxes out of two sheets of 25mm PIR and one sheet of 40mm PIR (the sides are 25mm and the ends 40mm) and after I've made a couple to finalise the timber sizes the construction time shouldn't be huge -- most of the cutting can be done with the table saw. The timber is just whatever I can find in my scrap pile. It could even be cedar from old kit that is beyond repair. Even buying the timber though, I don't think a guesstimate of less than £10 per box is unrealistic for materials.

Of course the bees may hate them, but there's only one way to find out...

James

 

[Swarm]

Somebody here mentioned you could clear supers off the hive. Sorry can’t remember who. I said I was going to try it. Swarm said you could put a clearer board flipped over on the top too. So that’s hive stand, clearer, supers, flipped clearer.
Then somebody added that you could mix supers from different hives.

Yes, that was me.

 

[Swarm]

Thanks Dani, missed more than I thought!
So what are the bees clearing into? Just straight out the bottom?

They clear out of top and bottom. You can make one stack of supers from different hives with a clearer board above and below, obviously make sure there are no holes or gaps.

 

[North End Bees]

They clear out of top and bottom. You can make one stack of supers from different hives with a clearer board above and below, obviously make sure there are no holes or gaps.

Useful to know. Thanks I'll try it!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks Dani, missed more than I thought!
So what are the bees clearing into? Just straight out the bottom?

Yes. Then they fly home

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, that was me.

Can you make a new thread on how to do this and I can sticky it?

 

[North End Bees]

Can you make a new thread on how to do this and I can sticky it?

Yes please and timings you find work best