What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[Beefriendly]

Just about brain dead, nearly 200 frames assembled and foundationed today. That's a day of my life I won't get back.
......only another 100 frames to go....

 

[madasafish]

Started making my next polynuc from Celotex..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Started making my next polynuc from Celotex..

Photos?
Please

 

[madasafish]

Photos?
Please

Your wish is my command...

Langstroth 5 frame Jumbo nuc...made from reclaimed Celotex, scrap aluminium (car aluminium exhaust heat shield in road), Wickes aluminium foil tape, Gorilla glue and cocktail sausage sticks to hold it all together when assembling.

Costs:
Celotex 4 sheets used in bits £10 £1.00
Glue - 10% bottle Gorilla glue 1.00
Foil - say half roll 3.00
Paint - Aldi acrylic £8/2.5L 1.00
Aluminium frame runners FOC
Wood 1.50

Total £7.50

Interior walls - painted with coarse masonry paint.. to prevent bees chewing (not yet done).

Tools used:
ruler, straight edge,set square, tape measure. Saw. scissors.Tin snips.
Saw Wickes Fine Cut 550mm 22" hand saw Fine Finish. (You need a SHARP fine cut saw for insulation.
Wood straight edge to cut square - see photo #5
Tin snips for frame guides.
Plans: http://www.michiganbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Styrofoam_Nuc_20100813.pdf

Under floor entrance and OMF..

I have three full of bees which overwintered with no problems.

Am planning to use this one as a cell starter for queen rearing..

 

[user 6228]

After 5.5 years someone follows july 2011

do you want some observations gained from the 5 years ?

 

[madasafish]

do you want some observations gained from the 5 years ?

Yes please...

 

[Erichalfbee]

That's brill madasafish and with an under floor entrance too !
Derek will probably tell you to frame that crown board in polycarbonate rather than wood

After 5.5 years someone follows july 2011

do you want some observations gained from the 5 years ?

Yes please me too

 

[bjosephd]

I've wondered about doing this! What thickness celotex did you use?

My current idea is a wood lined celotex clad langstroth frame long hive.

But these as nuc boxes look like a fab idea!

How much do the bees munch through it all though? Ia masonry paint the only solution?

Looking forward to Derek's thoughts...

B


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[user 6228]

I going to have to write a book on this...

use 2mm correx as the box to box mating surfaces this provides

• some bee space (2 x 2mm =4mm)
• a gasket
• and a way of easily separating boxes with out damage.

To separate a correx faced box you just slide the hive tool in and then run it all round the edges and the box just "pops".

a crown board it becomes a heat bridge. The fix? just have a roof made out of a single piece of sheet, with the correx gasket underneath.

use a heavy stone on the roof to make all the box to box joints close

Use a table saw to cut the foam for boxes. The air leaks you can get away with in wood and poly are suddenly too much now.

... This means you are limited to around 50mm with most cheap table saws but thats enough anyway. save the thicker stuff for the roof.

When you go to 50mm or above on the roof all the heat saved comes out of the entrance or the varroa mesh.
To overcome this you now need to increase the vertical distance from the occupied space to the entrance and eith get rid of the OMF or move the tray slot opening further down as you have done with the entrance.

 

[madasafish]

I've wondered about doing this! What thickness celotex did you use?

My current idea is a wood lined celotex clad langstroth frame long hive.

But these as nuc boxes look like a fab idea!

How much do the bees munch through it all though? Ia masonry paint the only solution?

Looking forward to Derek's thoughts...

B


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

50mm
Masonry paint on the inside is what I have used elsewhere (TBHs)Two coats so quite thick.

On this particular roof, : It was outside on another nuc with bees and attacked by magpies so covered it in fibreglass resin on top..

 

[Erichalfbee]

My current idea is a wood lined celotex clad

B


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This is how my wild bee box (to go up in a tree) is made but the celotex is sandwiched between two layers of 12mm ply

 

[Little John]

Yesterday was a mega pallet-disassembly day, and today was a mega table-routering day - the router only stopped during coffee breaks, as 40x 5-frame nuc boxes need to be made asap.
Thanks extended to Honeywell for producing such efficient ear-plugs.
LJ

 

[Brian Bush]

Have finished building a Dartington Long Hive I started 8 years ago. I was making two but only finished the first one. Had this ruddy great box in the corner of the garage collecting rubbish ever since. I have use the roofs in emergencies on other brood boxes over the intervening years. SWMBO's new car arrives tomorrow. I have had to expand the available space in the garage. I have put in the OMFs and attached the legs. Painted the box with preservative, made wide insulating dummy boards, fitted the roof and will deploy next week to a new out apiary where i have an inherited omlet beehaus with a strong colony.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Have finished building a Dartington Long Hive I started 8 years ago.

I'm surprised your wife hasn't filled it with flowers and put it out in the garden in that time

 

[farmerboy5470]

Langstroth 5 frame Jumbo nuc...made from reclaimed Celotex, scrap aluminium (car aluminium exhaust heat shield in road), Wickes aluminium foil tape, Gorilla glue and cocktail sausage sticks to hold it all together when assembling.

After 5.5 years someone follows july 2011

do you want some observations gained from the 5 years ?

Both look really good.
What thickness celotex would you recommend? Any tips on where to get it?

 

[madasafish]

Both look really good.
What thickness celotex would you recommend? Any tips on where to get it?

50mm thickness.

I get mine used on Gumtree/Preloved and ebay - end of projects/surplus etc..

You can buy new in DIY sheds or seconds/

 

[Brian Bush]

I'm surprised your wife hasn't filled it with flowers and put it out in the garden in that time

 

[For want of a better word]

I'm surprised your wife hasn't filled it with flowers and put it out in the garden in that time

I think that may be the fate of my Top bar no honey hives... big pots with geraniums would go nicely with the OMF......

Mass production on National roofs underway... glad we fixed the big dust extractor with a prefilter cyclone...
Now all I need is another aluminum caravan to scrap !

Myttin da

 

[Tremyfro]

Just about to start a refurbishment of an old Dartington. Needs a new roof definitely...ha ha. Otherwise in quite good condition. The main thing to do is to make a celotex wrap as these Dartingtons have thin walls. This one has a split roof...so am a bit unsure how to get that to fit properly...it seems to have a frame inside it which holds it up and the two halves are supposed to fit together but ATM this isn't happening. When this wind dies down a proper look at it may reveal the way it works...otherwise I will join them together into one roof. I have found a way of posting my photos the right way up!

 

[bjosephd]

Ooh now there's a project!

If you get the Tapatalk (pro?) app then posting photos is an absolute doddle by the way!


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