Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: SgtMaj on July 10, 2008, 06:40:03 am
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Since I embarked on my mission to build myself a nice hive, it has really surprised me, just how many sites there are that make building plans readily available. These are the same sites that sell that same equipment, too. I know of no other industry like that. Most of the time, construction plans are kept more secret than nuclear secrets in the Los Alimos labs. Businesses don't want you to know how to make what they sell, hoping to sell just one more to someone that could have otherwise made it themselves. But the bee business is different. Not only do they share their plans and best practices, they seem to encourage and help even their direct competitors become more successful. What is it about bee keeping and bee keepers that's so special that it makes people put aside their greed and just be better people and better citizens?
At first I thought it must have something to do with bee keeping being a fun/leisure activity as well as a business, but then I realized that fishing is too. But the guy you're competing against in the fishing tournament isn't about to help you do better. I'm now convinced that a bee keeper would though.
So what exactly is it about bee keeping that's so special?
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Because Honey is sweeter than milk, eggs and bacon. :-D
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I guess it boils down to the fact that a box is a box, is a box? But I do get yer drift.
...JP
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Most of the time, construction plans are kept more secret than nuclear secrets in the Los Alimos labs.
If that was the case only the Chinese would have the secrets to the building of boxes :-D
Keith
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I think because most of the beeks I have run into are handy and good at problem solving. They will eventually figure out a way to do it one way or another. As mentioned, a box is a box and a lot of the beekeeping equipment can easily be reversed engineered. Putting plans on their website could be a tactic used so that people can get blueprints to build the equipment, but when they find out that it may be more than they bargained for (frames for instance), they will be already at their website to purchase frames or whatever it is they wanted to build.
I do agree that a senior beek is more ready to pass down his/her knowledge to a new beek. I think this is enjoyment of teaching but maybe more so for the betterment of the bees. There are, I'm sure, those beeks who don't want to share their knowledge.
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I've seen the plans, and I have no idea how to make half of these cuts. I would rather leave it in the capable hands of a master carpenter than spend the time probably doing it wrong myself.
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Putting plans on their website could be a tactic used so that people can get blueprints to build the equipment, but when they find out that it may be more than they bargained for (frames for instance), they will be already at their website to purchase frames or whatever it is they wanted to build.
Good point... even though I'm building my boxes myself... I'm also planning to buy the frames... just doesn't seem worth it to build them.
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Frames are the only thing I buy too. I like to spend time in the woodshop and have managed to fabricate jigs for just about every piece of bee woodenware except frames. I have created some masterpieces mind you, they found the stove :roll:, or got cut down to smaller projects. As mentioned most beeks are problem solvers by nature and usually come up with a plan of attack. At any rate I create enough sawdust and woodchips to fuel my smoker... :-D
David