Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: Tinker Belle on October 23, 2011, 08:29:38 am
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I am a huge fan of observation hives, but prefer that they are fully functional rather than being an interrupt to a normal hive. So I've been researching designs, and then modified plans to make a very simple 8 frame hive. It is 2 frames deep, with the bottom pair being deeps, for easy installation of the brood, and 3 pairs of mediums above. Both sides open, a debris drawer cleans out what falls through the bottom screen without taking the hive outdoors, and bees enter and exit through a 1" clear plastic tube. My signature has a link to the plans, which do not require a router, table saw or other special woodworking equipment. I have added a 1 1/4" hole center top, currently plugged, but which will open into a 2-frame honey super that can be added & removed without taking the whole hive outdoors. I will update the plans with details on that project as it is completed.
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I like this one. I may attempt to make one, thanks.
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Looks nice. :)
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Problem with pairing the frames is that the queen will spend 90+% of the time in between frames and lay as much brood as she can in there. Which in turn doesn't leave much to observe.
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Bingo Robo. That's why I don't like double wide OHs, it kinda defeats the purpose of having an OH.
I wasn't aware that a router and table saw were "fancy stuff." Granted they do cost some cash, but at $60 or so for a cheap router I think you get your moneys worth out of it. If planned out, your router can replace most other tools that I use, including a table saw. It just takes about five times longer to complete my cuts.
I must say that I like your feeder design though.