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Author Topic: Home made hive design  (Read 5428 times)

Offline BlueBee

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Home made hive design
« on: January 20, 2011, 07:36:25 pm »
If anybody is looking for some inspiration for a home built hive this winter, I thought I would share a photo of one I built.  Just an idea I'm passing along here, I’m not sayin’ it's perfect!



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I built this one out of 1x8x8’ and 2x8x8’ lumber I got from HD.  The 1x8 boards make up the sides and the 2x8 boards for the ends.  Using 2x8’s for the ends has some advantages and disadvantage. 

First the good news.
Using 2” stock for the ends gives you plenty of wood on the ends to dado out frames rests.  I’m not good with a router and was too lazy to get out the dado blades, so I cut the groves for the frame rests with my normal table saw blade (ie feed it thru twice).  After that was done I simple butt jointed (glued and screwed) the sides to the thick 2” ends and called it done.  Using 2” stock (from the 2x8s) makes for a strong butt joint.  Add the glue and screws and it easily holds my weight.

Now the bad news.
The down side of this simple strong approach is weight.  Using 2” stock on the ends adds a little weight (probably 2lbs, I haven’t measured for sure).  However the bees might like the extra insulation of the thicker wood!  (Probably about R2 vs R1 of ¾” wood).

For the hand holds, I used pieces from a 2x4, painted them, and then screwed them on from inside the hive.  That was a little more effort, but it doesn’t chew into the R value of the end board.  I went with a slanted roof for looks and for some dead air space.  A slated roof also helps keep the weather off whatever material you’re using.  I put cleats on my roofs to prevent my patio stones from scuffing up my nice paint job.

If anybody wants the dimensions of this thing I can probably go out and measure it, I don’t have the numbers by my computer.

Last but not least.  You HAVE to get the colors right  :-D

Offline AllenF

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2011, 08:02:20 pm »
Can you throw us a pic of the inside of the hive or with it opened up?

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2011, 09:55:52 pm »
I'll try to take some more photos of the design tomorrow when the sun comes up.

Offline specialkayme

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2011, 10:49:55 pm »
Do you have any more info on your top?

You said you have dead air space, were you going for a Warre style quilt top, or just a sealed off block of wood? I guess basically I don't know what you meant.

Looks great though.

Offline Tommyt

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2011, 07:09:41 pm »
Looks Good

need MORE :? good Look Pic's  :-D
"Not everything found on the internet is accurate"
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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2011, 07:39:48 pm »
OK, here's some more photos AND dimensions.  Be warned, BlueBee uses the metric system  :-D



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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2011, 08:49:42 pm »
For people new to the bee business, I should mention that this design is NOT the quickest way to build a hive!  The slanted roof is time consuming to build as are the hand holds.  This design was as much for looks as it was for function.

If you want to make a hive quicker, I would forgo the fancier hand holds and replace them with simple cleats nailed onto the ends for hand holds.  As for the roof, a flat roof is much faster to build.  A roof made of foam is a good option too.  The foam can insulate the hive in the winter and keep the solar heat gain out better in the summer.  Foam is light.  We’re also told foam won’t degrade for a 1000 years!  In the case of a roof that is good.

There are many ways to build a bee hive, keep an open mind.

Offline AllenF

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2011, 10:58:32 pm »
2 1/2" to 3" screws on the second pic??   What happened to the metric?   :-D

Hives are great looking.   I like them a lot.

Offline Algonam

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2011, 11:07:45 am »
Basic definitions: can't find these.

Is a "Nuc" the same as a hive body or a honey super? "Nuc" isn't mentioned in the construction details.

the description of a hive drawing that I have is as follows:
outer cover
inner cover
shallow super
dadant honey super
deep hive body
bottom board.

Once again, or still overwhelmed with info......and still trying to get it all straight in my head.


Oh Canada!

Offline hardwood

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2011, 11:12:02 am »
Algonam, "Nuc" is simply the short for "nucleus" hive. A nuc is normally 5 frames but may be less. Hive components vary depending on your beekeeping methods.

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline AllenF

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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2011, 02:43:11 pm »
@Allen, when is Congress going to FINALLY outlaw the old English units  :-D

@Algonam, I have also experimented with numerous nuc designs.  I’ll try to take some photos and throw them up sometime next week.  My nucs are kind of interesting; they’re made of foam with laun (wood) innards.  From a bee perspective, they experience “wood” since the inside of the things is all wood.  However from a human perspective, we get the benefits of light weight foam.  This is MUCH lighter than a wood hive and MUCH better insulated.  Foam hives also have some negatives too though. 

In a nuc, you have fewer bees to keep the brood warm.  On a cold night, if the brood gets too cold, it dies.  Insulation helps hold the bees heat in the hive on a cold night.  This can result in faster buildup.

@All
There are lots of free older bee books you can download from Google too.  They are very interesting to read.  The free ones are out of copyright, meaning they’re about 100 years old.  But it really is amazing how little has changed in 100 years of beekeeping!!!!   You can learn a lot from those old books, and books in general.

Offline hardwood

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2011, 03:28:54 pm »
I done larnt my ABCs from one of them thar books onced. :-D
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline AllenF

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2011, 04:22:43 pm »
On the metric system, we worked everything in metric in college and later working with the state, but now as I work construction, I see that old english ain't going anywhere.   Americans are too stubborn, too cocky, and too hard headed to change.   The only reason they use metric nuts on cars now is to make you buy another set of sockets and wrenches. (conspiracy) 

But, metric is easier to work with.  I just wish the rest of the world would get with us and change back.   :-D

Offline Algonam

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #14 on: January 22, 2011, 08:12:11 pm »
We have both here in Canada, but when you get into residential construction everything is measured in 1nches and feet and those dual purpose tape measures are useless!!
BTW the thermometers are in Celcius and distance/speed is measured in kilometers, land is measured in feet and yards and acres. We are constantly converting in our heads!
At least time has remained the same!

Oh Canada!

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Home made hive design
« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2011, 06:23:13 pm »
If anybody wonders what a gable roof might look like on this hive.  Here is a photo. 


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