Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: trapperbob on June 11, 2007, 08:57:14 pm
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Was just wondering if you used poplar for making hive bodys or super bodys and dipped them in wax if they would hold up as well as other woods used for this purpose as I have some access to some fine grade poplar and would like to use this since it is free and free is always good. Some opinions on this would be helpful.
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I used poplar to build a bunch of hives. They have only been used this year but seem to be fine. It is time consuming making the boxes though. Not because of being poplar, it just takes time. Poplar is defiantly cheaper. I used paint grade. Something like .90 a board foot rough cut.
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Make sure you paint good on the out side. It will not last as long as pine unpainted.
I use flat exteior latex, 3 coats min.
doak
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i have some supers and deeps made from poplar that i built over twenty years ago. i don't know about wax dipping but they hold up well as long as you keep a good coat of paint on them. i have some bottom boards i've made from red and white oak that have been around a long time. a good thing about using hard woods instead of soft wood is that it does not get damaged as bad when they set without bees and get wax moths. i've made frames from hard woods too. they are really great. the only problem is nailing the wedge into that hard wood.
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poplar isn't a very good wood to keep outside. It will rot and be eaten up by pests relatively quickly.
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i think poplar would make excellent hive bodies if the exterior is painted and its not in contact with the ground. its also easy to work.
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my poplar bottom boards rotted after 2 years. pine is still fine. I put toomuch work into making hives for them to rot so fast.