OK. This one will get pinned! THE GAP IS THERE FOR SEVERAL REASONS. 1. I didn't want an impenetrable wall of plastic that the bees could not pass through. 2. The gap allows the use of EXISTING foundation from already drawn out frames you have on hand. 3. The gap allows the bees to pass through the center of the comb 4. The gap is a "Bee's Choice" area. They build drone comb, queen cells and/or worker comb there. 5. The gap allows for easy hot swapping of old comb for new comb 30:22 The gap is a feature, not a bug!
Waiting to buy the frames (no woodworking tools)…..pls don’t give up. (Would like to covert all my double deep and single brood boxes to bee barn style brood boxes.)
I winced at some of those "questionable" table saw cuts, particularly without using a riving knife! Kickback is real, and dangerous, so I'm glad you included the "don't try this at home" warning in the beginning. 🙂
@@apveening You won't get all perfectly sized slices. The last slice is an oddball leftover. So just make sure you leave the blow out side to be the last pass. Problem solved!
You underestimate how entertaining just watching how things are built is. Especially when I'm already a fan of you and your bees. I live in an apartment and don't own a single power tool, but this video was definitely for me.
I’m a K.I.S.S. and a numbers guy, so here’s my breakdown that helped me follow along and build these (with top and bottom bar instructions added, and a much simpler Block plan) Step ½. Plane boards to 1 3/8” Step 1. Cut to 15 3/4” lengths Step 2. Top DADO 7/8” wide and 7/16” deep Step 3. Bottom DADO 3/4" wide and 3/8” deep Step 4. Rip to 3/8” strips Step 5. Cut Groove 1/8” wide and 5/16” deep Step 6. Shape the sides with 3/8” DADO 1/4" deep on each side Step 7. Shape the blocks. Cut a board to 1” x 2” however long you want, cut grooves on each 1” side about 1/8” wide and 5/16” deep. Then rip into 1” pieces. Do not cut against the fence. Step 8. Cut the gusset triangles. (don’t skip, build for long-lasting rigidity, don’t be lazy) Cut 1/8” Baltic birch plywood sheets (amazon easy source) into 2” strips, then make 45 degree cuts on miter saw. Step 9. Glue four sides of frame together Step 10. Glue 4 gussets Step 11. Place foundation in place and glue 2 blocks and tack in place with 1/4” galvanized staples (ALTERNATE DEEP/MEDIUM sections every other frame) TOP BAR: (DADANT TYPE FRAME GUIDE, pdf’s widely available and recommend you use it with these instructions) Step 1. Cut boards into 1 1/16” wide 3/4" tall 19” long strips Step 2. Cut 1/4" deep 1/16” wide groove down the middle of one side (this will be bottom side) Step 3. Cut 3/8” DADO 1/16” deep 5/8” from each side on both sides, 4 total cuts per top bar Step 4. Cut 1/4" deep DADO 3/8” wide 5/8” from the end of each TOP BAR on the bottom side Step 5. Cut 5/16” DADO 5/8” wide on the ends on the bottom side Step 6. Cut 1/4" corner roundover or 45 degree miter on all 4 corners Step 7. Cut off tack strip (optional) 1/4" from bottom on one side BOTTOM BAR: Step 1. Cut boards into 3/4" wide 3/8” tall 17 3/4" long strips Step 2. Cut 1/8” groove 5/16” deep
Are you going to keep using wood supers or will you be going to the polystyrene boxes for those as well? And do you have a video that shows how you transitioned from the regular frames to your long frames?
VERY thoughtful SAFETY idea to tell people just how dangerous woodworking tools can be. I've met one to many who ignored their skill level of dangerous woodworking tools and payed a huge price for it in the way of missing digits. SO IMPORTANT FOR ONE TO KNOW WHAT THEIR LEVEL OF SKILL IS in this section of the BeeBarn Build. Wonderful video, I can't wait to create them myself. P.S. Personally, If the frames were available for purchase--- that would be the route that I would take.
Thanks. I went back and forth on actually making this video but decided to just show how I did it and be as careful as possible. I figured that would be better than leaving the process a mystery and have people out there improvising. There are ALWAYS going to be risky woodworking cuts. I tried to show these as carefully as I could.
I’ve learned so much from you! Thank you. Not only have you inspired me to start my first year in beekeeper this spring but you’ve inspired my girlfriend to start making bread too🍞. I’ve watched every one of your videos up to season 6 (in order) over the past year and a half. You mentioned something about possibly working on manufacturing these frames to sell. I’m a furniture maker in Colorado and have the shop to produce these frames. I’d love to start the conversation about making that happen if you haven’t already started working with someone. Thanks again for always providing value to your audience.
Thank you Jim love the way you explain the way you do things, thanks for all you have put into these videos for our entertainment and the good of our apiaries!
Using/making a tenon jig (super simple) for the dado cuts is a safer way to do it since you can clamp the material down and move the whole jig through, when I made the xl frames I followed the @beekeepersworkshop build series and it worked great! He even walks through building the top bar which is the most tedious step but also a lot of fun
There are several ways to do all of these things. I'm just sharing my process. I think the dado cuts are actually not difficult or as dangerous as they seem because you're holding on to a large block of wood very securely. The hardest part is keeping the cut straight. A jig would definitely help with that. The worst cuts for me were the slices, but the Grabber Pro block was a game changer. Doing the old "two pushstick" shuffle last time was exhausting and treacherous when the pieces got smaller. The push block was relaxing. Zero effort!
100% agree on making some jigs for this. You would be amazed, and UA-cam is filled with examples of folks that had secure grips on blocks of wood. I know you are comfortable with working with a dado but the 30 minutes on a jig makes the rest of the pieces consistent and safe.
Jim, You've probably already thought of this but if you get to the point where you are having a mold made for your frames, consider having only one mold made that has "ears" on both the top and the bottom (for hanging the frames in the hive box). Then the customer can cut off one set of ears on each frame, giving them the ability to flip the frames so that the gaps are staggered (just like you said they should be). The ears could easily be cut off with a jig saw or even a fine tooth pull saw. This would save you the expense of having two separate molds made. Hope this helps.
Just getting back into beekeeping after a 40+ year lapse. Not sure if I'll be going the bee barn just yet, but your vids are certainly making me think more as well as gaining knowledge. Thank you!
Umm, when you pull on your sock cap, what you should do is….. Lol, just get a kick out of all the “you’re doin’ it wrong” comments on EVERY “how to” video EVER made! 😁
Plan to build my bee barns this year and would purchase the deeper frames for it if you have a mfg lined up. The bee barns themselves are enough DIY and don't feel the need to go through the frames building too if they can be purchased. Appreciate you showing some great steps on how to make them. It was enough to know I would rather buy than build those. But playing with the foam board was a new experience and kinda fun to work with. Bees all over will live better in summer and winter with the more insulated design and hope we see a trend of adoption.
As far as selling frames you could just supply the side bars, corner gussets and the connector blocks. Add the top and bottom bars and sell them unassembled. This will save a lot of labor costs.
Jim, there is a workshop in Brentwood, NH that made my double deep side frames on his CDC machine. If you want I could ask if he is interested in going large scale.
Thank you so much!! I will have bees next spring, going to use time from now to then to get ready! Have watched all your and Mr.Fredrick Dunn's post. Really appreciate you guys. Reading all I can. Thanks again!!
Year one: I didn't build any gussets. No issues to report. Year two: I am not so worried about the middle tabs, only that they are less than half the thickness of the void. This is a very sustainable concept within a personal apiary. A lot of allowance is available for the dimensions. Can't wait for year two!
Thank you for making all these videos!! I’ve kept bees in northern WI for a few years and was really excited to watch the bee barn experiment when you first started it. I’ve been waiting for the frame video most of all! Thanks for innovating and sharing all your hypotheses and results, greatly appreciated. I’ll be converting to bee barns and using with flow hives.
If every engineer I ever worked with had the hand skills and the creative talent that you've shown I would have never left the profession. I couldn't give out any higher praise.
Great job Jim! We are getting below zero temperatures with high winds here in Maine this weekend. Sure wish I had some of these super insulated hives now🥶. I’m very interested in purchasing some of these frames. All the best, Doug
Great video! Looking forward to the next one! Your videos got me excited enough to become a beekeeper and to record my inspections. Your editing skills are on a whole nother level though! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, thank you for showing this whole process! Hopefully this will be my first year beekeeping, I've been watching videos for years and getting involved in my local group. I'll be building these soon!
Hey when you get a chance I know you're very busy person like I am Glenmore from New Hampshire love you videos I love your hive your barn ideas awesome but I have some really great ideas and how to make things easier and simpler for you cuz I am a woodworker
OH Man!! Such a fun rip around the wood shop. Love the design & build! I am feeling the itch bad for some 3D printed mini parts at the corners & gap bit to make it click assemble with straight sections like a KNEX or something. I think its needing to crop the foundation corners that irks me. But I’m sans barn & wood shop & Computer Bound so my thinking tends to drift into 3D model & print land. Great job dude!! Is maintaining Langstroth Compatibility a MUST going forward? Is it about the supers & spinners? You seem to be growing past the Langstroth module so it makes me think Lgst is still kinda busted. I think you’ll break 4 figures on Honey weight this year. Gonna finally pair up the old Flow hive to a barn this time around?? Happy 2023
I posted a comment yesterday, but I think it got deleted, I found a company that builds a frame making machine and they claim it will work for custom length side bars. The company is called multi-sweet, they have a you-tube channel as well.
Wow, I have never heard of that. I watched some of their videos, but I'm a bit confused. Looks like you'd need several machines to make frames, though.
Hello Sir, I am a beekeeper from Algeria. I work on a natural system consisting of six easy conditions. When I applied six conditions to any beehive, the Varroa died without treatment with medication, and the number of bees increased by 80%, and the brood gave birth within 16 days.
Jim, I love your super insulated Bee Barns 2.0! Great job with the videos. I see value in larger frames, i.e. more natural brood laying patterns. I watched all the videos hoping to see why you went with a deep plus medium plastic foundation? Maybe I missed it. Why not go with two deep plastic foundations per frame OR two medium plastic foundations? How did you settle on a mixed approach, by that I mean, a "Deep AND Medium" plastic foundation per frame? I'm asking, because I'm about to build your "Bee Barn Hive" and I am thinking about making my frames with 2 deep plastic foundations per frame. Thanks again for you videos and your reply to this question.
the parts you were cutting seem like they might be thin enough to be cut with either a laser cutter or CNC machine which cuts down in labour costs dramatically so should be cheaper to get manufactured. maybe you could reach out to another youtuber and do a collab, like April Wilkerson or something.
I’ve thought about CNC but to be efficient, the parts are cut out of plywood. That’s not the best material for beehive frames. Cutting from dimensional lumber is better, but unfortunately not the best use of a CNC.
Doing my first bee barn this year. So far, everything is going great. One tip for others I'd suggest is ensure your med and large frames are fairly aligned. Mine are slightly askew on a couple, resulting in wild comb. Thanks Jim, love your videos!
Jim, I love your super insulated Bee Barns 2.0! Great job with the videos. I see value in larger frames, i.e. more natural brood laying patterns. I watched all the videos hoping to see why you went with a deep plus medium plastic foundation? Maybe I missed it. Why not go with two deep plastic foundations per frame?
While I admire your ability to carry through with your vision, I respectfully emplore you to be far more careful with your table saw. Doing what you're doing, you are set up for a very serious table saw accident. Reply if you want any specific recommendations.
Thank you for all your wonderful videos! I want to make one of your hives this summer, I think your ideas are great and great for the bees. I wish I had your shop. Lol
As a new bee keeper and like the thought that has gone in to your bee barn, in considering if I could convert my Langstroth hive but as a poor woodworker with limited tools making the frames is put me off. Is there any reason I can not 3D print the side bars blocks and gusset in one piece ??
Are you planning to use all polystyrene boxes (brood and supers) or do you plan to use wooden boxes for the supers? I ask because of the nesting feature and I am not sure how that would work with wood boxes.
Me and my bf are really enjoy your vedios and learn a lot from you. We are looking forward for using your beebarn method as our potential beekeeping journey 😊 However we both are zero experience in woodwork. So there's a question hope you don't mind to answer. Do you think if Lazutin frame might be fit in beebarn 2.0?
Pretty exciting about getting started building these frames. My question is if you have considered using metal for the GUSSETS instead of plywood. I am talking about heavy gauge like vent material. I am planning on experimenting with that idea and see how it holds. Thanks!
Where can I found the measures of those Brood frames? Metric If I understood correctly the top and the bottom are standard ? ( US or UK) ? The vertical ones I can probably do that on my CNC easily
I will definitely have the hubs watch this. He is the table saw guy in this household. I am the ever-ready assistant. I am gonna give this a go. Thanks for sharing. Question: when the frames are together and in the box and the bees are drawing the space in between foundations, do you see them building more drone comb or worker comb. Just curious as what to expect to see.
I may have thought of a better way to just elininate the block. Either use staples put in at a slight angle to hold the foundation in place... ir use a small shim pressed into that groove to keep the foundations separated. Might end up being a PITA for changing foundations. But might also turn out just fine.
I make my Lazutin frames basically a double deep Langstroph frame with 2 by and 1.5 diameter dowel. I cut the dowel in half and 2 by into 3/8 strips. I screw the dowel on top bar and use for bottom bar. I drill pass through holes in top dowel. I notch the sides with skill saw. I add a vertical bamboo skewer in center for comb support. The dowel acts as starter strip too.
I wish someone would just make the frame sides so that this would work with a medium box stacked on a deep. Really, that's all we need. That way I need no wood working skills and no tools.
Hi Jim, Loving your BeeBarn. I'm also here is MA and insulate my hives but not in the same lavish style as you. I had a question regarding the side bars. Do the side bars need to be more narrow near the bottom? Bees can get from one side of the comb to the other through the communication gap that is left between the deep and medium foundation. Alternatively rather than making a plywood jig to narrow the side bars, why not just make the foundation 3/8" narrower? The foundation already doesn't reach the side bar. Just make the gap wide enough for a bee to walk.
I use 2 medium boxes instead of a deep and I checkerboard deeps with mediums. I let the bees draw long comb. Once it gets long enough, I just cut off the bottom strip, rubber band to a medium and put it in the super. Move the medium frame that's filled up into the super and then put an empty medium back in the brood box. The capped brood hatches and the bees back fill promptly with nectar.
I might have a great idea for you maybe perhaps instead of trying to figure out how to build the frames easier. Why not make saw jigs that make them easier to do along with safety. Just a thought
I have been following your beekeeping journey since about 2015. It's been quite a journey, as has mine. My first hive was back in 2011. What did I know about beekeeping? Looking back, virtually nothing. By dumb luck I guess, the hive survived a pretty cold winter in a single deep. Mites? AFB? Requeening? All foreign terms. I would recommend anyone considering becoming a "hobbyist" beekeeper to watch many beekeeping videos. It's a lot more than just putting a bunch of bees in a wooden box, sitting back and getting honey in the fall. Your inventive spirit always amazes and challenges me. Good luck on your journey!
You're right. Many hobbyists are "bee havers" not beekeepers. I know some and they just buy new bees every year, sit back and get honey in the fall. I'm focused on the challenge of getting the bees through a Minnesota winter - and with Jim's help I succeeded this year. I super insulated my 4 hives (kind of a cobbled together bee barn) and all four hives survived. I'll be building bee barns for them this summer.
Have you thought about doing these in ABS type plastic? You could make them split in two so you can fit your frames in and snap them close. Might be cheaper to produce and also the plastic should hold up longer. You should look into a 3D printer!
3d printing will take a long time, not really suitable for production volumes. Injection molding would be the way to go but you have high cost tooling. Extruding the side pieces and then slicing them would be an option. Casting them in a SIL one mold might work, as would stamping them with a hot die press.
If you make those side blocks out of 3/4 to 1” mdf you won’t have to glue up plywood and won’t have the grain issues from split wood. Another option is to just 3D print them. If you did that you could include a ridge down the back side to fit in your side frame slots. In a high volume situation, I’d probably just extrude the profile out of plastic and cut them to length automatically.
Great tutorial - have to give this a try! Sign me up to buy if/when you have them! (and the safety conscious table saw user in me says - pull up those sleeves when cutting - prevents the blade from grabbing and pulling you in)
Sleeves are very tight. Camera angles make a lot of movements look closer to the blade than they really are. I hear you. No loose clothing around machines.
You can save time by using only a 5/8" dado. You adjust the fence to cut one half of the top notch and then flip the board around to cut the other side. Then it is only a matter of moving the fence to cut the bottom notches. If you nave access to a router table you can set up a straight cutting bit and a stop block to cut the sides down. Make sure you use all the safety equipment. Keep your fingers away from the spinning bit.
Foundation never touches the sidebars. The grooves are not for the foundation. The grooves are for the gussets to slide into. They only need to be 2” in from the ends of the bars, but it’s easier to just send the piece through the saw on one cut. The groove in the middle area of the bar serves no function.
That is my expectation and why I'm building my bee barns. Very common for us to see triple digit days in summer and about 95, bees beard badly. This should allow them to keep the inside of the hive cooler in that heat and reduce the stress on them during the hottest months. FYI, I live in central valley of CA. Very hot dry summers.
For me it is interesting that you are using / have plastic foundation in there. We only use full wax sheets as foundtation here in Estonia. These sheets are with pressed comb pattern ofc not just blank sheets. We also change them every single season. Melt the wax and trade it for new sheets of foundation. 1kg of wax sheets makes up to 12 Langstroth frames and costs around 25$. I think we don't even have those plastic foundations available at least I haven't found any.
I have never tried full wax foundation. I think the design of these particular frames is not suited for full wax or ‘natural’ comb. But I’m sure there are modifications that could make it work.
@@vinofarm yeah we also have like 4 lines of thin stainless steel wires running thru frame that we heat with a battery so it melts into the wax so it could be spinned in a honeyspinner. Otherwise this fullwax foundation would just fly out of the frame. It's quite a bit more hassle every year but at at least it's all wax and no plastic. But I would luke to try those plastic foundations. Would surely make life easier
@@vinofarm true. I'm probably gonna try to make beebarn of my own but some adjustments then. I doubt I get it up and running for this season tho :) but keep up the good work and keep them videos coming, they are very interesting and entertaining to watch :)
Thanks - great stuff! ... what is the best way to transfer the bees from standard deep frames to the XL frames? (assuming new wax foundation in the XL and wax foundation/foundation-less in the old ones)
You might look at this UA-cam title: (American Bee hives are ALL WRONG here is why! split hives 4 weeks later). Then fast torward to the 25 minute mark. Some good itdeas for you.????
I’m not a fan of Layens hives. Especially for my climate. Horizontally oriented hives do not make sense in the north with 6 month winters. What Dr Leo was doing there was making a Langstroth frame into a Layens frame. I just made an extra deep Langstroth frame. My frames are about 50% larger.
3/8 plywood would not survive a season inside a humid bee hive. I thought of that for about 3 seconds and ruled it out. Solid would could work, but imagine milling down every board to 3/8" first and all the waste. It's not very efficient.
Couldn't you glue and screw together two existing frames and trim off the middle hangers so it slides down all the way? I measured mine and it's 15 1/2". Bees won't know the difference of 1/4" on the bottom, will they?
Wait, how did it end? I’m thinking of glueing two frames together upside down, then cutting the middle bars out while leaving 3” in the middle for the plastic foundation to sit in. I will also reinforce the connection with flat sheet metal and add corner braces as well.
@@jacechristensen7162 Hacking together two separate thin pieces of wood end to end and expecting them to stay rigid while supporting 10 pounds of bees and honey is not worth the effort. Just make solid sidebars. Yes, they would hang perfectly fine inside the box, BUT you’re going to be pulling them out for inspections regularly and no fastener is going to withstand that repeated movement. Especially under the moist climate conditions inside the box. Make solid sidebars.
Jim! I have another note! :) What if instead of leaving the gap between foundations, the gussets occupy the horizontal empty space? So, the height of the inside of the channel on these deepmed(patent pending ;) )frames minus the higher of a deep and a medium foundation will give you 2y where as y is the height of each gusset allowing the gussets to remain, no blocks to be made, and none of the cross building issues that comes with the gapping in the middle
@@danholtbk7008 the gap is not an ideal feature in my opinion. There is plenty of room available without the potential for wonky comb through the entire hive. If he had said he'd stagger even and odd frames for the placement of the deep and medium frames I could see his point but I politely disagree with his decision
Great series of video's and I'm in the process of starting my switch to your barns. How do you recommend the transition from regular Langstroth hives to the barns? Do you just hang the regular frames in there and at some point once he hive has established on the barn frames, pull the regular deeps? I want to transition my current hives as well as spring nuc's and want to give everyone the best shot at acclimating to the barns. Any suggestions would be appreciated, or maybe even a short video on how you made the switch. Thank you from another MA beekeeper!
I’ll be making a “how to transition” video soon. You can do it like you said, or you could pre-transition by making your current brood box into a deep/medium and then putting a couple blank BeeBarn frames into it for a few weeks. Once the bees draw out the comb and the queen has started to lay into the bee barn frames, you can move them over to the bee barn. Then temporarily put the regular deep brood frames on top with a queen excluder and let the brood emerge and migrate down.
To save a ton of time, after cutting the dados for top and bottom why not cut the bee space at the side of the bars from the block on the band saw before slicing into individual sidebars?
I prefer to run the slices with a flat surface on the table saw. Pre cutting the bee space would make a very wobbly block to push through the table saw dozens of times. Of course, it is possible to do it in that order if you’re comfortable.
How do the bees use these frames? They are in the brood box, but also contain resources for the winter, right? So, are they 100% brood for part of the year (ie, in the summer), but then some of the brood cells are repurposed for resources for the rest of the year (ie winter)? Or is the "brood box" always 50/50 (or some other ratio) of brood to resources, and they load up the supers with resources only when the foraging is good? Do they first reload the empty resource areas of the brood box in the spring before starting on the supers? Or are those resource areas of the brood box filled up in the fall just before things close up for the winter?
There is a brood box (the "bee barn" part of the hive) and these frames live in the brood box. They use them for brood and brood stores. Supers go on top like a regular Langstroth hive. Honey is harvested from the supers. In the fall, supers are removed, bees are condensed down to the brood box (the deep+medium sized cavity with the deep frames.) I then offer them syrup so they can backfill their brood nest for winter. They live in there all winter and come out into spring with plenty of resources left over to get started brood rearing before we have any real nectar flow (around April). Once the stores are used up and the spring flow begins, I get supers back on top and they begin using the brood area for brood again.
I am looking forward to seeing your results over the next couple seasons! Please, for step 2, build a tenon jig. That is a wicked dangerous cut and a tenon jig would eliminate so much of the risk. They’re wicked easy to make and all over UA-cam. Speaking of safety-get a riving knife on that table saw! It’ll be challenging getting frames out with only a few fingers!
You can make an insert plate and incorporate a splitter into it. Stumpy nubs has a UA-cam video on it worth checking out. It’s titled, “Make SAFER, cleaner table saw cuts with this splitter/throat insert” Thanks for the response and best of luck this beekeeping season!
No. Just a 5 part video series. Everyone is starting with different materials. My goal is to show the techniques and concepts and let people improvise.
I wish we were friends so I could just talk to you without sounding like a hater but since you asked...there's no reason to make those blocks. Just throw a dab of glue between the plastic foundation and the frame. It could be hot glue or foam or wood glue, really anything since it'll all get propolised/waxed into place. Glad you're back
@@vinofarm I haven't finished the video yet but will now. Since I've been overthinking my own super insulated hives for years I'm obviously going to have plenty of insight ;)
I use double deep brood boxes with a single continuous plastic foundation that I cut and glue together or no foundation at all. Works great. I don’t use gussets and leave the corners open for bee movement between frames.
AS an experienced wood worker of a life time and a 8 year bee keeper that video was TOP NOTCH............................THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS as i have watched many of your vids.
Stupid question. Why don't you put a full foundation from top to bottom instead of having the gap in the middle?
OK. This one will get pinned! THE GAP IS THERE FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
1. I didn't want an impenetrable wall of plastic that the bees could not pass through.
2. The gap allows the use of EXISTING foundation from already drawn out frames you have on hand.
3. The gap allows the bees to pass through the center of the comb
4. The gap is a "Bee's Choice" area. They build drone comb, queen cells and/or worker comb there.
5. The gap allows for easy hot swapping of old comb for new comb 30:22
The gap is a feature, not a bug!
@@vinofarm gotcha, I'm new to the bee world.
Here is the initial reveal of my frames two years ago... ua-cam.com/video/z768OIA3bMo/v-deo.html
Waiting to buy the frames (no woodworking tools)…..pls don’t give up. (Would like to covert all my double deep and single brood boxes to bee barn style brood boxes.)
@@vinofarm Do they sell foundation in a "non-standard" size?
I winced at some of those "questionable" table saw cuts, particularly without using a riving knife! Kickback is real, and dangerous, so I'm glad you included the "don't try this at home" warning in the beginning. 🙂
If my table saw had a riving knife, I would use it. Riving knives are great. My other saw has a riving knife, but does not take dado blades.
Do you have a email where I can contact you I have a idea for your idea 💡 great work !!!
About page.
To prevent blowout at the end of the dado cut, cut halfway thru, backoff, and cut from the opposite side to finish the cut
Was also my first thought when I saw those blowouts.
Great idea, I will personally use that method when I make my own double deep (19”) side frame bars.
Doug... Who has that kind of time????
@@vinofarm Everybody has as those blowouts ruined some of the potential struts, at least one on every cut.
@@apveening You won't get all perfectly sized slices. The last slice is an oddball leftover. So just make sure you leave the blow out side to be the last pass. Problem solved!
You underestimate how entertaining just watching how things are built is. Especially when I'm already a fan of you and your bees. I live in an apartment and don't own a single power tool, but this video was definitely for me.
I’m a K.I.S.S. and a numbers guy, so here’s my breakdown that helped me follow along and build these (with top and bottom bar instructions added, and a much simpler Block plan)
Step ½. Plane boards to 1 3/8”
Step 1. Cut to 15 3/4” lengths
Step 2. Top DADO 7/8” wide and 7/16” deep
Step 3. Bottom DADO 3/4" wide and 3/8” deep
Step 4. Rip to 3/8” strips
Step 5. Cut Groove 1/8” wide and 5/16” deep
Step 6. Shape the sides with 3/8” DADO 1/4" deep on each side
Step 7. Shape the blocks. Cut a board to 1” x 2” however long you want, cut grooves on each 1” side about 1/8” wide and 5/16” deep. Then rip into 1” pieces. Do not cut against the fence.
Step 8. Cut the gusset triangles. (don’t skip, build for long-lasting rigidity, don’t be lazy) Cut 1/8” Baltic birch plywood sheets (amazon easy source) into 2” strips, then make 45 degree cuts on miter saw.
Step 9. Glue four sides of frame together
Step 10. Glue 4 gussets
Step 11. Place foundation in place and glue 2 blocks and tack in place with 1/4” galvanized staples (ALTERNATE DEEP/MEDIUM sections every other frame)
TOP BAR: (DADANT TYPE FRAME GUIDE, pdf’s widely available and recommend you use it with these instructions)
Step 1. Cut boards into 1 1/16” wide 3/4" tall 19” long strips
Step 2. Cut 1/4" deep 1/16” wide groove down the middle of one side (this will be bottom side)
Step 3. Cut 3/8” DADO 1/16” deep 5/8” from each side on both sides, 4 total cuts per top bar
Step 4. Cut 1/4" deep DADO 3/8” wide 5/8” from the end of each TOP BAR on the bottom side
Step 5. Cut 5/16” DADO 5/8” wide on the ends on the bottom side
Step 6. Cut 1/4" corner roundover or 45 degree miter on all 4 corners
Step 7. Cut off tack strip (optional) 1/4" from bottom on one side
BOTTOM BAR:
Step 1. Cut boards into 3/4" wide 3/8” tall 17 3/4" long strips
Step 2. Cut 1/8” groove 5/16” deep
thank you !!!!
Are you going to keep using wood supers or will you be going to the polystyrene boxes for those as well? And do you have a video that shows how you transitioned from the regular frames to your long frames?
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and creativity 💛🐝💛
I sent you an email. I'm 40 min south of you and can produce your frame parts at scale. Or just the side bars.
Thomas, what about at small scale? I’d only need enough for 20 frames.
VERY thoughtful SAFETY idea to tell people just how dangerous woodworking tools can be. I've met one to many who ignored their skill level of dangerous woodworking tools and payed a huge price for it in the way of missing digits. SO IMPORTANT FOR ONE TO KNOW WHAT THEIR LEVEL OF SKILL IS in this section of the BeeBarn Build.
Wonderful video, I can't wait to create them myself.
P.S. Personally, If the frames were available for purchase--- that would be the route that I would take.
Thanks. I went back and forth on actually making this video but decided to just show how I did it and be as careful as possible. I figured that would be better than leaving the process a mystery and have people out there improvising. There are ALWAYS going to be risky woodworking cuts. I tried to show these as carefully as I could.
I’ve learned so much from you! Thank you. Not only have you inspired me to start my first year in beekeeper this spring but you’ve inspired my girlfriend to start making bread too🍞.
I’ve watched every one of your videos up to season 6 (in order) over the past year and a half.
You mentioned something about possibly working on manufacturing these frames to sell. I’m a furniture maker in Colorado and have the shop to produce these frames. I’d love to start the conversation about making that happen if you haven’t already started working with someone.
Thanks again for always providing value to your audience.
Thank you Jim love the way you explain the way you do things, thanks for all you have put into these videos for our entertainment and the good of our apiaries!
Using/making a tenon jig (super simple) for the dado cuts is a safer way to do it since you can clamp the material down and move the whole jig through, when I made the xl frames I followed the @beekeepersworkshop build series and it worked great! He even walks through building the top bar which is the most tedious step but also a lot of fun
There are several ways to do all of these things. I'm just sharing my process. I think the dado cuts are actually not difficult or as dangerous as they seem because you're holding on to a large block of wood very securely. The hardest part is keeping the cut straight. A jig would definitely help with that. The worst cuts for me were the slices, but the Grabber Pro block was a game changer. Doing the old "two pushstick" shuffle last time was exhausting and treacherous when the pieces got smaller. The push block was relaxing. Zero effort!
100% agree on making some jigs for this. You would be amazed, and UA-cam is filled with examples of folks that had secure grips on blocks of wood. I know you are comfortable with working with a dado but the 30 minutes on a jig makes the rest of the pieces consistent and safe.
Jim, You've probably already thought of this but if you get to the point where you are having a mold made for your frames, consider having only one mold made that has "ears" on both the top and the bottom (for hanging the frames in the hive box). Then the customer can cut off one set of ears on each frame, giving them the ability to flip the frames so that the gaps are staggered (just like you said they should be). The ears could easily be cut off with a jig saw or even a fine tooth pull saw. This would save you the expense of having two separate molds made. Hope this helps.
Just getting back into beekeeping after a 40+ year lapse. Not sure if I'll be going the bee barn just yet, but your vids are certainly making me think more as well as gaining knowledge. Thank you!
Umm, when you pull on your sock cap, what you should do is…..
Lol, just get a kick out of all the “you’re doin’ it wrong” comments on EVERY “how to” video EVER made! 😁
Yes. True.
Plan to build my bee barns this year and would purchase the deeper frames for it if you have a mfg lined up. The bee barns themselves are enough DIY and don't feel the need to go through the frames building too if they can be purchased. Appreciate you showing some great steps on how to make them. It was enough to know I would rather buy than build those. But playing with the foam board was a new experience and kinda fun to work with. Bees all over will live better in summer and winter with the more insulated design and hope we see a trend of adoption.
Jim, great video! You are blessed to be so talented in so many different ways!!!
Thanks, Don. It’s mostly editing magic, though. I appreciate the support!
As far as selling frames you could just supply the side bars, corner gussets and the connector blocks. Add the top and bottom bars and sell them unassembled. This will save a lot of labor costs.
Jim, there is a workshop in Brentwood, NH that made my double deep side frames on his CDC machine. If you want I could ask if he is interested in going large scale.
@@bradwamsley3465 What are they made from? I assume large scale cnc production would use plywood. Not sure that’s Ideal for sidebars.
@@vinofarm eastern pine
Is there anyway I can send a photo on this site.
@@bradwamsley3465 thevinofarm@gmail.com
Thank you so much!! I will have bees next spring, going to use time from now to then to get ready! Have watched all your and Mr.Fredrick Dunn's post. Really appreciate you guys. Reading all I can. Thanks again!!
Year one: I didn't build any gussets. No issues to report. Year two: I am not so worried about the middle tabs, only that they are less than half the thickness of the void. This is a very sustainable concept within a personal apiary. A lot of allowance is available for the dimensions. Can't wait for year two!
Thank you for making all these videos!! I’ve kept bees in northern WI for a few years and was really excited to watch the bee barn experiment when you first started it. I’ve been waiting for the frame video most of all!
Thanks for innovating and sharing all your hypotheses and results, greatly appreciated.
I’ll be converting to bee barns and using with flow hives.
If every engineer I ever worked with had the hand skills and the creative talent that you've shown I would have never left the profession. I couldn't give out any higher praise.
It's so long time i miss your new thing..keep up greet work. You're friend from North Africa Libya alkhoms..
Great job Jim! We are getting below zero temperatures with high winds here in Maine this weekend. Sure wish I had some of these super insulated hives now🥶. I’m very interested in purchasing some of these frames. All the best, Doug
Yeah, it’s currently HOTH in central MA right now.
Great video! Looking forward to the next one! Your videos got me excited enough to become a beekeeper and to record my inspections. Your editing skills are on a whole nother level though! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, thank you for showing this whole process!
Hopefully this will be my first year beekeeping, I've been watching videos for years and getting involved in my local group. I'll be building these soon!
Hey when you get a chance I know you're very busy person like I am Glenmore from New Hampshire love you videos I love your hive your barn ideas awesome but I have some really great ideas and how to make things easier and simpler for you cuz I am a woodworker
When I get a chance, what do you want me to do?
Great job Jim! I've been waiting on this video!! I'm all in for purchasing frames, but I'll try my hand at making them first, Thanks again!
OH Man!! Such a fun rip around the wood shop. Love the design & build! I am feeling the itch bad for some 3D printed mini parts at the corners & gap bit to make it click assemble with straight sections like a KNEX or something. I think its needing to crop the foundation corners that irks me. But I’m sans barn & wood shop & Computer Bound so my thinking tends to drift into 3D model & print land. Great job dude!!
Is maintaining Langstroth Compatibility a MUST going forward? Is it about the supers & spinners? You seem to be growing past the Langstroth module so it makes me think Lgst is still kinda busted.
I think you’ll break 4 figures on Honey weight this year. Gonna finally pair up the old Flow hive to a barn this time around??
Happy 2023
I posted a comment yesterday, but I think it got deleted, I found a company that builds a frame making machine and they claim it will work for custom length side bars. The company is called multi-sweet, they have a you-tube channel as well.
Wow, I have never heard of that. I watched some of their videos, but I'm a bit confused. Looks like you'd need several machines to make frames, though.
@@vinofarm I think with blank slats their desktop frame machine would do the rest. I sent you a message as well
I'd love an update on your barn this summer!
Thanks so much for posting the build series. Looks like a lot of work. God bless you and your family. :)
I am also waiting for updates on the apiary this year
I meant his pole barn lol
Hello Sir, I am a beekeeper from Algeria. I work on a natural system consisting of six easy conditions. When I applied six conditions to any beehive, the Varroa died without treatment with medication, and the number of bees increased by 80%, and the brood gave birth within 16 days.
Sounds like you should start a UA-cam channel.
Just wanted to say thank you for all of your videos. lost my bees in 2021 and getting back into it this year with Bee Barns
Jim, I love your super insulated Bee Barns 2.0! Great job with the videos. I see value in larger frames, i.e. more natural brood laying patterns. I watched all the videos hoping to see why you went with a deep plus medium plastic foundation? Maybe I missed it. Why not go with two deep plastic foundations per frame OR two medium plastic foundations? How did you settle on a mixed approach, by that I mean, a "Deep AND Medium" plastic foundation per frame? I'm asking, because I'm about to build your "Bee Barn Hive" and I am thinking about making my frames with 2 deep plastic foundations per frame. Thanks again for you videos and your reply to this question.
the parts you were cutting seem like they might be thin enough to be cut with either a laser cutter or CNC machine which cuts down in labour costs dramatically so should be cheaper to get manufactured. maybe you could reach out to another youtuber and do a collab, like April Wilkerson or something.
I’ve thought about CNC but to be efficient, the parts are cut out of plywood. That’s not the best material for beehive frames. Cutting from dimensional lumber is better, but unfortunately not the best use of a CNC.
Doing my first bee barn this year. So far, everything is going great. One tip for others I'd suggest is ensure your med and large frames are fairly aligned. Mine are slightly askew on a couple, resulting in wild comb. Thanks Jim, love your videos!
Jim, I love your super insulated Bee Barns 2.0! Great job with the videos. I see value in larger frames, i.e. more natural brood laying patterns. I watched all the videos hoping to see why you went with a deep plus medium plastic foundation? Maybe I missed it. Why not go with two deep plastic foundations per frame?
While I admire your ability to carry through with your vision, I respectfully emplore you to be far more careful with your table saw. Doing what you're doing, you are set up for a very serious table saw accident. Reply if you want any specific recommendations.
Thank you for all your wonderful videos! I want to make one of your hives this summer, I think your ideas are great and great for the bees.
I wish I had your shop. Lol
I am very much interested in buying these frames. The cost will be worth it in the end.
As a new bee keeper and like the thought that has gone in to your bee barn, in considering if I could convert my Langstroth hive but as a poor woodworker with limited tools making the frames is put me off.
Is there any reason I can not 3D print the side bars blocks and gusset in one piece ??
I do not have a dato set and utilize a router in a homemade gig for those cuts.
Great Video. Certainly a lot of work but well worth it
Thank You!
Are you planning to use all polystyrene boxes (brood and supers) or do you plan to use wooden boxes for the supers? I ask because of the nesting feature and I am not sure how that would work with wood boxes.
Queen excluder and then regular 8 frame wooden supers.
Me and my bf are really enjoy your vedios and learn a lot from you. We are looking forward for using your beebarn method as our potential beekeeping journey 😊
However we both are zero experience in woodwork. So there's a question hope you don't mind to answer. Do you think if Lazutin frame might be fit in beebarn 2.0?
Pretty exciting about getting started building these frames. My question is if you have considered using metal for the GUSSETS instead of plywood. I am talking about heavy gauge like vent material. I am planning on experimenting with that idea and see how it holds. Thanks!
Where can I found the measures of those Brood frames? Metric If I understood correctly the top and the bottom are standard ? ( US or UK) ? The vertical ones I can probably do that on my CNC easily
I will definitely have the hubs watch this. He is the table saw guy in this household. I am the ever-ready assistant. I am gonna give this a go. Thanks for sharing. Question: when the frames are together and in the box and the bees are drawing the space in between foundations, do you see them building more drone comb or worker comb. Just curious as what to expect to see.
It’s a mix. Some make perfectly flat worker comb. Others leave giant holes. Some make full drone comb. It’s interesting to see what happens.
I may have thought of a better way to just elininate the block. Either use staples put in at a slight angle to hold the foundation in place... ir use a small shim pressed into that groove to keep the foundations separated. Might end up being a PITA for changing foundations. But might also turn out just fine.
I make my Lazutin frames basically a double deep Langstroph frame with 2 by and 1.5 diameter dowel. I cut the dowel in half and 2 by into 3/8 strips. I screw the dowel on top bar and use for bottom bar. I drill pass through holes in top dowel. I notch the sides with skill saw. I add a vertical bamboo skewer in center for comb support. The dowel acts as starter strip too.
I wish someone would just make the frame sides so that this would work with a medium box stacked on a deep. Really, that's all we need. That way I need no wood working skills and no tools.
Hi Jim, Loving your BeeBarn. I'm also here is MA and insulate my hives but not in the same lavish style as you. I had a question regarding the side bars. Do the side bars need to be more narrow near the bottom? Bees can get from one side of the comb to the other through the communication gap that is left between the deep and medium foundation. Alternatively rather than making a plywood jig to narrow the side bars, why not just make the foundation 3/8" narrower? The foundation already doesn't reach the side bar. Just make the gap wide enough for a bee to walk.
I would be interested in 20 frames. I am not too interested in making them for myself. Have you had any progress on getting injection molded ones?
Loved it and thanks Jim.
Do you recommend any special procedures for transferring a already established bees from and Langstroth to the new Bee barn?
Question..... do those frames have to be wood? Why can't they be 3d printed?
I use 2 medium boxes instead of a deep and I checkerboard deeps with mediums. I let the bees draw long comb. Once it gets long enough, I just cut off the bottom strip, rubber band to a medium and put it in the super. Move the medium frame that's filled up into the super and then put an empty medium back in the brood box. The capped brood hatches and the bees back fill promptly with nectar.
I might have a great idea for you maybe perhaps instead of trying to figure out how to build the frames easier. Why not make saw jigs that make them easier to do along with safety. Just a thought
I have been following your beekeeping journey since about 2015. It's been quite a journey, as has mine. My first hive was back in 2011. What did I know about beekeeping? Looking back, virtually nothing. By dumb luck I guess, the hive survived a pretty cold winter in a single deep. Mites? AFB? Requeening? All foreign terms. I would recommend anyone considering becoming a "hobbyist" beekeeper to watch many beekeeping videos. It's a lot more than just putting a bunch of bees in a wooden box, sitting back and getting honey in the fall. Your inventive spirit always amazes and challenges me. Good luck on your journey!
You're right. Many hobbyists are "bee havers" not beekeepers. I know some and they just buy new bees every year, sit back and get honey in the fall. I'm focused on the challenge of getting the bees through a Minnesota winter - and with Jim's help I succeeded this year. I super insulated my 4 hives (kind of a cobbled together bee barn) and all four hives survived. I'll be building bee barns for them this summer.
Why not go with two deep plastic foundations per frame?
I made some 3D printed “couplers” to utilize the standard deep and medium sides to make bee barn frames.
Your shoulders look long than normal bar. ??? Is there a reason?
I have an Amish frame maker who makes costume frames for me. he charges under under $2 for an unassembled frame
Have you thought about doing these in ABS type plastic? You could make them split in two so you can fit your frames in and snap them close. Might be cheaper to produce and also the plastic should hold up longer. You should look into a 3D printer!
Next video. Next week.
@@vinofarm Interesting, can’t wait for the video.
3d printing will take a long time, not really suitable for production volumes. Injection molding would be the way to go but you have high cost tooling. Extruding the side pieces and then slicing them would be an option. Casting them in a SIL one mold might work, as would stamping them with a hot die press.
If you make those side blocks out of 3/4 to 1” mdf you won’t have to glue up plywood and won’t have the grain issues from split wood. Another option is to just 3D print them. If you did that you could include a ridge down the back side to fit in your side frame slots. In a high volume situation, I’d probably just extrude the profile out of plastic and cut them to length automatically.
Sharing my frame build alternative idea. I didn't see a way to dm so posting here.
ua-cam.com/video/jvIp-tZg5yc/v-deo.html
If you don't own a big shear, you can score the foundation with a knife and bend it to snap off the corners.
What is the purpose of the gussets? Are they required, or just a really good idea?
Great tutorial - have to give this a try! Sign me up to buy if/when you have them!
(and the safety conscious table saw user in me says - pull up those sleeves when cutting - prevents the blade from grabbing and pulling you in)
Sleeves are very tight. Camera angles make a lot of movements look closer to the blade than they really are. I hear you. No loose clothing around machines.
You can save time by using only a 5/8" dado. You adjust the fence to cut one half of the top notch and then flip the board around to cut the other side. Then it is only a matter of moving the fence to cut the bottom notches. If you nave access to a router table you can set up a straight cutting bit and a stop block to cut the sides down. Make sure you use all the safety equipment. Keep your fingers away from the spinning bit.
Good ideas. Thanks. I still hate router tables, though. I’m way more comfortable on a table saw.
How did you transfer from the old frames to the new queen size one?
Why does your foundations not reach the side bar grooves
Foundation never touches the sidebars. The grooves are not for the foundation. The grooves are for the gussets to slide into. They only need to be 2” in from the ends of the bars, but it’s easier to just send the piece through the saw on one cut. The groove in the middle area of the bar serves no function.
🐝 I do like the size of those frames 🐝
Why medium + deep instead of double deep frames?
Since this boxes are so insulated, would they work in a hot weather? the insulation should make them as heat resistant as with the cold. right?
That is my expectation and why I'm building my bee barns. Very common for us to see triple digit days in summer and about 95, bees beard badly. This should allow them to keep the inside of the hive cooler in that heat and reduce the stress on them during the hottest months. FYI, I live in central valley of CA. Very hot dry summers.
I used a 2 inch piece of bottom of frame for the side pieces
16:03 what is the depth of the groove? Looks like about 1/2"?
How would you move an existing single brood colony into your bee barn?
I would be interested in buying them
Do you sell the frams until your get the mold going?
For me it is interesting that you are using / have plastic foundation in there. We only use full wax sheets as foundtation here in Estonia. These sheets are with pressed comb pattern ofc not just blank sheets. We also change them every single season. Melt the wax and trade it for new sheets of foundation. 1kg of wax sheets makes up to 12 Langstroth frames and costs around 25$. I think we don't even have those plastic foundations available at least I haven't found any.
I have never tried full wax foundation. I think the design of these particular frames is not suited for full wax or ‘natural’ comb. But I’m sure there are modifications that could make it work.
@@vinofarm yeah we also have like 4 lines of thin stainless steel wires running thru frame that we heat with a battery so it melts into the wax so it could be spinned in a honeyspinner. Otherwise this fullwax foundation would just fly out of the frame. It's quite a bit more hassle every year but at at least it's all wax and no plastic. But I would luke to try those plastic foundations. Would surely make life easier
@@BradGrassforest Remember that these frames are not spun. They are brood frames. They stay in the brood box. They would still need extra support.
@@vinofarm true. I'm probably gonna try to make beebarn of my own but some adjustments then. I doubt I get it up and running for this season tho :) but keep up the good work and keep them videos coming, they are very interesting and entertaining to watch :)
Nicely thought out. Great job
Thanks - great stuff!
... what is the best way to transfer the bees from standard deep frames to the XL frames?
(assuming new wax foundation in the XL and wax foundation/foundation-less in the old ones)
There will be a video about transitioning in the coming weeks.
Hey, I've been thinking. What would a horizontal hive with these frames be like...?
I'm half tempted to try.
The horizontal hive bee-barn!
I am in the process of building a horizontal hive with a combination of these deep frames and regular deeps for honey storage.
You might look at this UA-cam title: (American Bee hives are ALL WRONG here is why! split hives 4 weeks later). Then fast torward to the 25 minute mark. Some good itdeas for you.????
I’m not a fan of Layens hives. Especially for my climate. Horizontally oriented hives do not make sense in the north with 6 month winters. What Dr Leo was doing there was making a Langstroth frame into a Layens frame. I just made an extra deep Langstroth frame. My frames are about 50% larger.
We couldnat least cut out the side rails using a cnc/laser cutter. I have 3/8 baltic birch plywood. It would save a ton of time and risky saw play
3/8 plywood would not survive a season inside a humid bee hive. I thought of that for about 3 seconds and ruled it out. Solid would could work, but imagine milling down every board to 3/8" first and all the waste. It's not very efficient.
Couldn't you glue and screw together two existing frames and trim off the middle hangers so it slides down all the way? I measured mine and it's 15 1/2". Bees won't know the difference of 1/4" on the bottom, will they?
Go ahead and give that a try! Ha ha. That was my first attempt and it ended poorly.
Wait, how did it end? I’m thinking of glueing two frames together upside down, then cutting the middle bars out while leaving 3” in the middle for the plastic foundation to sit in. I will also reinforce the connection with flat sheet metal and add corner braces as well.
@@jacechristensen7162 Hacking together two separate thin pieces of wood end to end and expecting them to stay rigid while supporting 10 pounds of bees and honey is not worth the effort. Just make solid sidebars. Yes, they would hang perfectly fine inside the box, BUT you’re going to be pulling them out for inspections regularly and no fastener is going to withstand that repeated movement. Especially under the moist climate conditions inside the box. Make solid sidebars.
Jim! I have another note! :)
What if instead of leaving the gap between foundations, the gussets occupy the horizontal empty space? So, the height of the inside of the channel on these deepmed(patent pending ;) )frames minus the higher of a deep and a medium foundation will give you 2y where as y is the height of each gusset allowing the gussets to remain, no blocks to be made, and none of the cross building issues that comes with the gapping in the middle
I am willing to listen to design ideas, but you've lost me. You need to draw that on a napkin!
@@vinofarm I'd be happy to but I don't think there's a way to post a picture here. Send me a friend request on Facebook and I'll message you a pic
@@ryanstreckfuss9590 thevinofarm@gmail.com
The gap is a feature, not a mistake. See his reply to the first pinned comment.
@@danholtbk7008 the gap is not an ideal feature in my opinion. There is plenty of room available without the potential for wonky comb through the entire hive. If he had said he'd stagger even and odd frames for the placement of the deep and medium frames I could see his point but I politely disagree with his decision
Great series of video's and I'm in the process of starting my switch to your barns. How do you recommend the transition from regular Langstroth hives to the barns? Do you just hang the regular frames in there and at some point once he hive has established on the barn frames, pull the regular deeps? I want to transition my current hives as well as spring nuc's and want to give everyone the best shot at acclimating to the barns. Any suggestions would be appreciated, or maybe even a short video on how you made the switch. Thank you from another MA beekeeper!
I’ll be making a “how to transition” video soon. You can do it like you said, or you could pre-transition by making your current brood box into a deep/medium and then putting a couple blank BeeBarn frames into it for a few weeks. Once the bees draw out the comb and the queen has started to lay into the bee barn frames, you can move them over to the bee barn. Then temporarily put the regular deep brood frames on top with a queen excluder and let the brood emerge and migrate down.
To save a ton of time, after cutting the dados for top and bottom why not cut the bee space at the side of the bars from the block on the band saw before slicing into individual sidebars?
I prefer to run the slices with a flat surface on the table saw. Pre cutting the bee space would make a very wobbly block to push through the table saw dozens of times. Of course, it is possible to do it in that order if you’re comfortable.
How do the bees use these frames? They are in the brood box, but also contain resources for the winter, right? So, are they 100% brood for part of the year (ie, in the summer), but then some of the brood cells are repurposed for resources for the rest of the year (ie winter)? Or is the "brood box" always 50/50 (or some other ratio) of brood to resources, and they load up the supers with resources only when the foraging is good? Do they first reload the empty resource areas of the brood box in the spring before starting on the supers? Or are those resource areas of the brood box filled up in the fall just before things close up for the winter?
There is a brood box (the "bee barn" part of the hive) and these frames live in the brood box. They use them for brood and brood stores. Supers go on top like a regular Langstroth hive. Honey is harvested from the supers. In the fall, supers are removed, bees are condensed down to the brood box (the deep+medium sized cavity with the deep frames.) I then offer them syrup so they can backfill their brood nest for winter. They live in there all winter and come out into spring with plenty of resources left over to get started brood rearing before we have any real nectar flow (around April). Once the stores are used up and the spring flow begins, I get supers back on top and they begin using the brood area for brood again.
Queen size (broad) frames 😁😁
Can I steal this for the title? Ha ha.
Yes please 😁😁😁
It's like a queen size mattress, but for bees 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@ukana5315 I just changed the title. I like your phrasing better. Thank you!
@@vinofarm I am sooo honored 😊😊😍😍😍 Now what was the original title 😅🤣🤣🤣🤣
You're looking skinny mate.
I am looking forward to seeing your results over the next couple seasons!
Please, for step 2, build a tenon jig. That is a wicked dangerous cut and a tenon jig would eliminate so much of the risk. They’re wicked easy to make and all over UA-cam.
Speaking of safety-get a riving knife on that table saw! It’ll be challenging getting frames out with only a few fingers!
It's an old saw. No riving knife anchor point, unfortunately. My other saw has a riving knife but doesn't take dado blades.
You can make an insert plate and incorporate a splitter into it. Stumpy nubs has a UA-cam video on it worth checking out. It’s titled, “Make SAFER, cleaner table saw cuts with this splitter/throat insert”
Thanks for the response and best of luck this beekeeping season!
Do you have PDF plans for the Bee Barn 2.0? I haven't been able to find any.
Thanks
No. Just a 5 part video series. Everyone is starting with different materials. My goal is to show the techniques and concepts and let people improvise.
QUESTION?????? WOULD A BISCUIT BE EASIER/FASTER/BETTER FOR THE CORNERS????
NOT FOR ME, BUT MAYBE FOR YOU!!!
I wish we were friends so I could just talk to you without sounding like a hater but since you asked...there's no reason to make those blocks. Just throw a dab of glue between the plastic foundation and the frame. It could be hot glue or foam or wood glue, really anything since it'll all get propolised/waxed into place.
Glad you're back
I know you're not a hater, but did you watch til the end? 30:22
I've been thinking this stuff through for over two years. Ha ha...
Maybe try that with two deep foundations and just trim to fit? It will be interesting to see all of the spin-off designs from this project.
@@vinofarm I haven't finished the video yet but will now. Since I've been overthinking my own super insulated hives for years I'm obviously going to have plenty of insight ;)
I use double deep brood boxes with a single continuous plastic foundation that I cut and glue together or no foundation at all. Works great. I don’t use gussets and leave the corners open for bee movement between frames.
This is tooooo much work.
Making a picture frame is easier. But this is not good.
Cool.
AS an experienced wood worker of a life time and a 8 year bee keeper that video was TOP NOTCH............................THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS as i have watched many of your vids.
I thought you'd find this amusing to hide you use for your be Barn the 8,9 out of stock till May
I've decided to use my wood langstroth as my base for this year.