What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[Erichalfbee]

Jarred up a bucket of honey for an order and sent my last four buckets up to Scotland
Fed up cobbling boxes for couriers. What size of box do folk use to send their honey and where do they buy them from?

 

[Superlativesoul]

Made a extractor module which is movable out of scrap wood ,I have modified the back since the video to allow the extractors gate valve to be more central to the hole .
John.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Made a extractor module which is movable out of scrap wood ,I have modified the back since the video to allow the extractors gate valve to be more central to the hole .
John.

 

[Bettenham]

Managed to lose my crown of thorns cage in the apiary so looked for similar online. Burkes bees have one at £8-ish delivered and it is made with a square wire mesh rather than threads which seems a good idea. Certainly not going to break . As a matter of interest what colour do you reckon is most visible to paint the ring part in case you lose it in the grass? Have checked the sole of my wellies but wasn't there!!

Well I managed to break the wooden ring on mine with the wire mesh. I had been looking for a good thread one but couldn’t find. Anyone have a favourite and where from?

 

[JamezF]

Well I managed to break the wooden ring on mine with the wire mesh. I had been looking for a good thread one but couldn’t find. Anyone have a favourite and where from?

I have the Thorne one and get on with it quite happily.

James

 

[Sutty]

Amazon have some quite cheap but they look like the mesh is stuck on rather than threaded around the nails.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have the Thorne one and get on with it quite happily.

James

you sometimes find decent ones on offer on Ebay, but as Thornes acquired the design and equipment from Baldock himself, for the sake of a few quid, why buy the plastic rubbish?

 

[Bettenham]

you sometimes find decent ones on offer on Ebay, but as Thornes acquired the design and equipment from Baldock himself, for the sake of a few quid, why buy the plastic rubbish?

It looks like they are £9.50 each from thornes. So I’ll get a couple as I’m bound to lose one somewhere! Thanks both for advice.

 

[JamezF]

It looks like they are £9.50 each from thornes. So I’ll get a couple as I’m bound to lose one somewhere! Thanks both for advice.

I have a reasonably sizeable lump of closed-cell foam that I stick mine into. Probably came from some packaging waste or something. I imagine it probably comes stuck into something similar, but a larger piece does seem to help me not lose it (so far ).

James

 

[Sutty]

They fit nicely in an airgun pellet tin

 

[drex]

I keep mine in an old mint tin in my suit pocket, along with my fluorescent pink pen. Age of queen is kept in my records. I painted the ring Bright yellow on the replacement after losing mine, which stuck into my wellie a few months later.

 

[Sutty]

If you lose it eg in long grass just take off your shoes/boots for a while & walk around barefoot - you'll find it!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

SWMBO gave me this tin to keep the first Baldock cage I bought, I would still be using the cage but way back in 2017 (I think) I was marking queens at the castle apiary when it slipped off the hive without me noticing and fell in front of the hive, that area was just littered with rocks which probably came down the cliff when the castle was slighted during the wars of the roses, I look there regularly (I know exactly where it fell) but it probably slipped down a crevice between two rocks - it will probably do some archaeologist's head in one day!. The featured Baldock cage is it's replacement, the paint is from when my queen marking pen fell to bits whilst marking a queen last Friday.

 

[Garry R]

SWMBO gave me this tin to keep the first Baldock cage I bought, I would still be using the cage but way back in 2017 (I think) I was marking queens at the castle apiary when it slipped off the hive without me noticing and fell in front of the hive, that area was just littered with rocks which probably came down the cliff when the castle was slighted during the wars of the roses, I look there regularly (I know exactly where it fell) but it probably slipped down a crevice between two rocks - it will probably do some archaeologist's head in one day!. The featured Baldock cage is it's replacement, the paint is from when my queen marking pen fell to bits whilst marking a queen last Friday.
View attachment 40096View attachment 40097

The cage that launched a thousand queens (or more in reality!)

 

[Garry R]

As I am going to have another go at cut comb after last summer (loosely called summer) was a waste of time. I made up frames with thin super foundation. I have had good results in the past but last year - zilch. However as I was doing this I tried to recall where in the hive I put the super! I know it needs a good flow and remember various bits of advice eg right on the top so the bees aren't trampling with mucky feet over it all the time so you get pure white cappings, to directly over the brood box(when I feel you risk pollen being stored. Any thoughts on this or does it matter?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I would never put it directly over the brood box as it's a surefire way of getting the comb packed full of pollen, my cut comb super is usually the second box on, from then on any additional supers go on below it.

 

[drex]

I run double National broods. Never get pollen in my supers

 

[Aneebe]

I would never put it directly over the brood box as it's a surefire way of getting the comb packed full of pollen, my cut comb super is usually the second box on, from then on any additional supers go on below it.

Agreed but perhaps depends on the strain too. Buckfast seem to love doing that with me anyway.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I run double National broods. Never get pollen in my supers

you wouldn't on double brood

 

[drex]

Thanks JBM. I know that by providing adequate space round the brood that is where they will put the pollen. It only goes in first super if there is not room in the BB. They always have pollen as close to brood as possible