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Author Topic: Best Shallow Super  (Read 2973 times)

Offline BlueBee

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Best Shallow Super
« on: November 19, 2012, 10:50:58 pm »
I have been using medium boxes to super my jumbo hives, but I’m less than thrilled with them for a variety of little design issues in my jumbo hive configuration.  I want to try shallow supers (or extra shallow) on these hives next year.  So I see there are a bunch of different sizes of “shallows” to pick from….of course!  5 3/4"?  5 11/16?  4 3/4"?  4 11/16?  Nothing is ever that simple in bee keeping, is it. :-\ 



So my question for our bee keepers is this:

What size of shallows do you like and why?


Offline Joe D

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2012, 11:28:59 pm »
Well, its like this.  When I bought my bees, they were 3 established hives, 1 deep brood box and shallow supers per hive.  I got a total of about 30 shallow supers, they were the 5 3/4 or 5 11/16 in.  They were not all in good repair, but have been cleaning and repainting them.  That is the one reason I like them, they are lighter than mediums or deeps to handle.  With a couple of bad disk in back and have had a heart attack not much strain.    I wouldn't want to steal your thread, but why don't the boxs come in sizes that are closer to board size.  Say shallow out of a 1 x 6, med out of 1 x 8, and deep out of a 1 x10.  The sizes now shallow and med cut out of a 1x8 and the deep out of a 1 x 12.  I have been thinking about making a med out of 1x8, cutting side bar of frames longer by appr.3/4 in, a deeper med.  Good luck with your quest.



Joe

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2012, 11:45:45 pm »
Good point about bee box sizes not matching the size of modern dimensional lumber; especially the deeps.   I make all my own boxes.  I’m also contemplating going with a custom size for my shallows that better fits the available lumber. 

Offline marktrl

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2012, 12:17:39 am »
"why don't the boxs come in sizes that are closer to board size."

When Langstroth first decided on the size of boxes back in the mid 19th century there wasn't a standard finished board size. Different locales had different sizes. I would assume he used the standard for his locale. A national standard wasn't established until 1924, which was different than it is now.     

Offline Joe D

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2012, 02:37:06 am »
Back then a lot of the lumber was rough cut, not planed down to size, a 1 x 6 was 1 x 6 not 3/4 x 5 1/2 like you have now.  You don't find a lot of rough cut now especially at lowe's or home depot.




Joe

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2012, 03:05:33 am »
When I lived in Florida, I went to a lumber yard way out in the boonies to get a truck load of rough sawn cypress for a fence.  They were much cheaper than the big box stores.  I was chatting with the guys at the saw mill and in the conversation they informed me it is now illegal to build a house out of rough sawn wood; you have to use dimensional lumber.  I never thought much about it before, but this may be why the big stores don’t sell rough sawn lumber?  Now I don’t know if the story is true that using rough sawn is actually illegal, but I would suspect most local building codes would forbid it unless you hire an engineer to verify the strength and span capacity of every little piece of wood!  Who wants to do that.  The local codes here just use span tables for standard dimensional lumber.  You go outside of that and life becomes more challenging. 

Yeah, there are boonies in Florida.  :-D

Online BeeMaster2

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2012, 01:02:32 pm »
Bluebee,
Several years ago I was building a master bedroom addition on my house. I wanted to make my own trusses from rough cut timber. The building inspector told me it had to be graded lumber. While putting up the prefab trusses, one of them broke. I looked at it and the broken section was one big knot. So much for the quality of graded lumber. The lumber I had planned on using had almost no knots.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Joe D

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2012, 08:46:30 pm »
As some of the older beek can remember that years ago lumber had less knots.  I still have 2 stacks in a barn of 1 x 8 x 12 planed yellow pine that is over 50 years old.  If you go to nail with a very big nail you will have to predrill, but are good boards.                                                                                                      Now if we can get back to Blues original question about which size shallow we like and why.       Sorry for side tracking your post Blue.



Joe

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2012, 08:59:00 pm »
Hey, I don't mind a little side tracking, I usually learn something new. 

But yes, what version of shallow supers should I use and why? 

I assume there is a limit on one end how shallow you can go and still have the bees be productive.  On the other extreme, if you go too deep, then you're back up to mediums.

Offline samsungpizza

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2012, 08:45:47 pm »
I run all 8 frame mediums. I'm 50 years young and the boxes will only get heavier. This print is the only thing getting smaller every year.  :-D

Offline OPAVP

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Re: Best Shallow Super
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2012, 09:41:09 pm »
Hi Folks,

I wrote Pierco Frames about cell size and numbers on their shallow frames. Part of the answer: We have commercial bee keepers using 3 shallow boxes for brood,with very good results.

Does that help?
Cor Van Pelt.

 

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