Subject: Beehives

From: MICHAEL HURLEY <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 06:23:26 GMT

From: [email-masked] (Mike Howe)
Date: 13/ 5/96 07:50:34
<Subject: Beehives
<Can anybody tell me were i can find or download plans for building my own
<beehive from scratch

No problem Mike.

Take the dimensions of the Brood frame you intend to use i.e. Langstroth
or Commercial ( forget about British Standard frames - to small ) and note
the size of the Excluder which will give you the overall dimensions.

Then add 8mm to get one internal dimension. and subtract the thickness
of the wood at both sides from the width of the Excluder to get the other
internal dimension. The depth of the box is the depth of the Frame plus 8mm
and allow a rebate for the lug equivalent to the thickness of the lug plus
8mm for Top Bee Space (about 18mm : do not even think of bottom
bee space which in the norm for National hives and is a disaster.

Supers are the same but shallower and Floor and Roof are designed to
match the Brood box.

No problem in using Rough White Deal BUT NOT PLANED as planed wood tends
to warp because of exposure to weather.

I have hives in service for 30 years made from 12mm White deal made from
9X3 inch with "deep " cuts by a bandsaw, using Galvanised nails and
treated with Creosote or a mixture of waste engine oil and creosote.

With all 12mm wood the outside dimensions come to 512mm X 420mm
that is with a double 12mm wall at the ends and a single 12mm wall
at the sides. The double wall accommodated the rebate. if the inner
wall of the double is 15mm the 512 becomes 518mm which is OK.

The key elements are :

Unplaned wood cut by a Bandsaw (for thickness accuracy)
Galvanised nails.

By galvanised nails I do NOT mean Slab nails with wide flat heads.
I have used round nails 1 1/2" X 3/32" and more recently 1 5/8" oval
nails 1 5/8" X 1/8by3/32 . The round nails dimensions were taken from
a box scrapped after 30 years in service and is still perfect. As well
as protection from the weather (here in Ireland), the roughness of the
galvanising also gives a better "grip". The round nails referred to above
were used for fixing Canadian Cederwood Roofing Shingles.

Finally, you can also make up 13 frame single wall Smith hives using
Standard British frames with short lugs. Again with 12mm wood the outer
dimension will suit the Langstroth Excluder.

Michael Hurley