Building Your Own Beehive Box
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Another part in the series on how to make your own beekeeping equipment, showing how to build a medium bee box; to make deep or shallow boxes just change the depth, or width of the boards. This allows you to save money and is a good project to complete so that you never run out of equipment.
I got a good batch of 1 1/4 " dry pine boards one time, various widths with no finished straight edges. Not to worry. I had a way to straight one edge. After planing the thick boards to a healthy 1 1/8th, I took stock of what I could get with very little waste. I could make narrower boards by cutting out the worst knots and dowel joining them to others to make deep boxes. Don't remember how many deeps I made, but over 2 dozen. Then I took various scraps of 3/4" pine stock, put a frame dado on one edge to use as box ends. Took my thicker longer sides and put a dado on the ends to accept the 3/4" end pieces. I didn't have enough end pieces to make 24 boxes, so I stopped when I ran out. I glued and screwed the boxes together and treated them with a waterproof oil of some sort, like deck oil. Try not to get any on the inside, as bees don't like it. The cost was very minimal for what I got out of the gift of lumber. All it cost me mostly was my time, which was free.
If you have a table saw, and some time, you too can make your own hive boxes
Free wood is my favorite! I also don’t factor my time as a fixed cost because I enjoy the process. Thanks for sharing your experience and for watching!
Awesome way to build a strong box without the need for box joints or dovetails. Thank you! Wish lumber prices were still that good ha
No doubt! Prices around here came back down a little but still high.
Much prefer the simplified instructions for people that aren’t familiar with all the tools! This is clear and concise.
Thank you! That’s my goal for these videos so I am glad to hear that. Thanks for watching.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I have been looking on UA-cam for almost ONE WHOLE YEAR for an instructional video exactly like yours!! I know nothing about carpentry and everyone else would skip steps and use jargon that I didn't understand. I was so frustrated and angry that I could've cried. You, sir, are a NATURAL teacher and you'll never know just how grateful I feel for YOU and your excellent video! I just LIKED and SUBSCRIBED to your channel. You must teach school for a living or work as a counselor...you've got a very rare gift. Again, thank you! If you ever pass through my state of Iowa, I owe you and your Mrs. a steak supper! Take care, my friend. I'll be sure to watch and like the rest of your videos now too!
Wow, thank you so much for the kind words! I am glad that this video helped you and wish you luck as you build your own equipment
@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees You're most welcome! I genuinely meant everything I wrote to you. Where is your home state?...Beekeeping here in the North is very different from the majority of bee videos, as they are dominated by Southern beekeepers. I see their bees flying around and brooding in January! Also, hive beetles are a big issue for them but, they aren't a problem in Iowa. Still, I adore learning more about honey bees. How many years have you been beekeeping and how many colonies do you manage? Thanks again!
I’m in northern Ohio and am heading into my fifth spring with bees. I had four colonies going into winter, hoping for at least one to make it through. We have hive beetles but I’ve found that keeping them in mostly sun helps.
@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees Awesome! I had trouble getting my girls through the winter too. I was a treatment free beek at first. Small guys like us just don't have the genetic diversity to pull it off. Once I began treating with OA, there were no more problems. I still set out swarm traps to bring new bees into my apiary. Yes, indeed the sun helps! By the way, I've driven through northern Ohio and the countryside looks a lot like Iowa!
@@iowasenator I like the idea of treatment free, but agree that it is not always the way to go. I really like the ease of OA and also use formic acid when the weather is good for it. It’s good to adapt as we learn and understand more of this hobby.
Thank you! 1st year keeping bees, I'd like to build my own boxes. The plan book is ordered.
That’s great to hear! I hope you enjoy making your own stuff and good luck on your bees. Thanks for watching
Very well explained and easy to follow.
Thank you for the kind words and for watching!
I think your box is awesome. I'm going to recreate it this year. I'm probably going to extend the handles all the way around just for added strength. I usually work with metal but I have a table saw that I have been neglecting I think this would be a good project to start using that table saw 👌🤟❤️
Thank you for the compliment! Yes handles all the way around are good for versatility in picking them up. I tend to only use them on the short sides of the boxes because they store in less room and my arms are pretty long so it’s still a comfortable lift. But like a lot of things in beekeeping there is more than one right way. Thanks for watching and happy building!
Just ordered the book of plans! Thanks for bringing that to my attention. It's exactly what I've been looking for!
edgarpickle1 that’s great! I hope you enjoy the book and making your own stuff.
What’s the book called?
@@sonharu7758 did you find out the name of the book?
Great video. My only concern is are the staples strong enough to hold a full box of honey.
Thank you! I’ve found they are still holding and some of these boxes are now over five years old. I’d say definitely use a quality wood glue in addition to the staples.
If you link that book in an amazon affiliate store and add the link here we could order by clicking your link and you would make a little change on the purchase. I am going to buy it but will wait a week or so to see if you happen to link it. Its exactly what I have been looking for as well. Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the tip. I am not certain how to perform the process you mention, so please buy from whatever source you find the most reasonable. Thanks for watching!
When I doing my dado cuts on my end pieces that's when I also cut in the recessed handles on all four pieces.
How deep do you cut the handles? I’m thinking of maybe trying it out on the long sides. I really like the cleats on the short sides so that I can have the boxes close together but any extra handles would be nice.
Does that book give you information on how to build the bottom board?
It does, both solid and screened versions. I’ve got some videos of how I build both styles. Thanks for watching!
Wow - I loved this video. Thank you very much. Question - How well does that glue hold up after years of being outside? And no screws? Many thanks.
Thank you for the kind words! I have had no issues with any of the boxes I've built and some of them are four years old now. I do try to make sure the paint is a couple good coats before they go out. Thanks for watching!
Ill answer the question for you both lol. You need to use candle wax to hot dip the box. This greatly preserves the wood (5 to 20 years) and also kills American Foulbrood spores. If you paint the hive (and get outbreak of afb) youll have to pay for irradiation or burn the box. Normal wood glue doesnt endure hot dipping process so get waterproof wood glue. Finger joints / "butt?" Much stronger
❤
What about cost of glue and staples you used? Oh and cost of electrical currents plus the time being spent!
When I’m building for my self I don’t factor in my time as a cost input. I enjoy being in the shop so it’s not work to me. For the amount of glue and staples used it is not much per box. .
Ok - I had to listen again. But to be clear, are you using the same dado blade for the rails and corners? Or two different blades. I'm from the south and a little slow. Many thanks.
The dado that connects to the other sides are 3/4” inch wide to meet the width of the boards. The dado along the top is 5/8” wide for the frame rest.
Both are 3/8” deep so they will meet up. I hope that helps!
@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees Oh ok! Cool. Now it becomes clear. Many thanks.
@@billysanford9799 happy to help, hope it works out for you! Thanks for the chance to explain more.
Do you not need to make up the dado cut for the long sides?
Not on the long side. The short side accepts the longer board to make up the correct dimensions. Hope that makes sense.
helpful but only got hand saw
Thank you. There are some other videos of mine that may be useful for that. If not perhaps other videos will give you some tips for working with that tool only.
what kind of would is best??
I like pine/softwood the best for mine because of price and weight. Any type is fine though and I’ve used plywood or hardwood too.
Hello Scott, I would like to ask your help with something wood-shop related. I put together my entire flow hive 2 and messed it up in a couple ways. For one, i stripped out a couple holes and am going to try adding a toothpick to help correct it. Yet I would like to ask help with another mistake I made. I did not use 90* angle corner clamps to make sure they set straight, and now the my base and two brood boxes don't line up with one another. So I have taken them all apart, order the brasses, yet don't know how to correct the screw holes that are already set? I feel like even with the brasses intact, the screws are going to go right back into the same hole pattern and the boxes will again be off centered. Someone told me I could try to slightly bend each screw. Or should I add toothpicks in all the holes then try to re-screw? What would you recommend? It would be so helpful to hear back from you. This is a project that is very important to me, as you well know. Thank you so much. Brad
Hi Brad. I do not have any experience putting the flow hive together but feel like your idea of adding toothpicks would work for the stripped holes. I’ve used it before in hinges and door handles and it works.
For the part about the box being not square, unless it is very skewed it would be ok. However I would say you would be better off not bending the screws. Perhaps if you could just glue it, while making sure it’s square then adding a few screws into new wood once the glue has dried it would work for you.
If you’d like to plug the holes that are left over after you re set the screws into new holes, standard wood putty would do it. There’s types to match most woods or you could use paintable putty.
I do not know what the brasses are though.
I hope this helps!
Which length of board is the best to get the most boxes out of with the least waste
If you’re using the rabbet joint I’ve found that a six foot board is nearly perfect. Thanks for the question!
@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees I need to build some deep eight frame boxes I was curious what length of board with the least waste and if you know the measurements for the side in front of the box for a deep with a rabbit cut thank you for your time
Ok, the six foot length is near perfect for 10 frame equipment. The long sides would be the same and the short side should be 13 3/8 for the eight frame instead of 16 1/4 for the 10 frame. Hope that helps
Also the deep boxes are 9 5/8 inch total depth instead of 6 5/8 depth for medium boxes.
plz sir, provide me pdf for this book
I’m sorry, I don’t have the pdf version. Best wishes to you.
@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees okay thanks dear sir ❤️
Rabbet joint box sides in inches 16.25, 19.125
Butt joint box sides in inches 14.75, 19.875
Fractions do not type out well 🤷♂️
Where are the measurements? I have not seen any
There are some in the comment thread. Any specific measurements you are looking for?
Is there a reason not to use plywood?
I’d say no reason not to, actually I have many plywood boxes in use. Just seal or paint them well and it’s fine. Thanks for watching!
@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees thank you for replying so fast...if all youtube channels would reply like you we would have an amazing community. ...thank you...
Happy to try and help where I can! Happy building and good luck to you.
Thank you..
@@Blgtn43 happy to help. Thanks for watching!
$.79 a linear foot, not board foot
Is it a 8 are 10
The video is for 10 frame equipment
Can't hear you
No volume
This the first I’ve heard anyone have issues with the sound on this video. It may be on your end.
Ei r