Observation Hive in Bee Culture

[BerkeyDavid]

First let me say I am a big big fan of Peter Seiling. I really enjoy his articles, and I have built a number of his projects. I particulary enjoyed building the Excelsior covers.

And the article and plans for building an observation hive in the January Bee Culture are great! It is an exact replica of the observation hive patented by Rev. Langstroth.

But a warning, there are a couple of mistakes that could lead you astray. I left my copy out in the shop, but I will bring it in tomorrow and post the corrections here. For now, let me just say, don't blindly follow the instructions.

[Superdog]

My Jan. Bee Culture didn't have any plans for an observation hive. Maybe I missed it. Guess I will have to look tonight.

[BerkeyDavid]

It is the December issue of Bee Culture, page 62. Just a couple of comments on things I did differently and / or noticed.

First, the BOM (Bill of Materials) is not done the standard way. I know this sounds picky but it can mess you up. Normally pieces are labled by length, width and thickness. the reason it catches you in this case is the sides are actually 1 1/4. not 7/8". Peter does a nice job explaining the value of 4/4 lumber being planed to 7/8, but never mentions that the ends are inch and a quarter stock. So when I read down through the material list, I figured they were all 7/8" except for the 1/2" stock and the 3/8 " side strips. Would have been nice to have this mentioned in step 1.

So you should set aside a couple of pieces and glue them up to make 1 1/4 stock, or else get some 6/4 stock and plane it down. I actually got away with using 7/8" stock. I beefed up the tops of the sides by gluing some 1"x 2 1/4" by 3/8" strips to the side tops after securing the side strips, and made the rabbets on the tops of the sides 5/8" deep instead of 7/8".

Next, step 4 states "Rabbet the hive base." Well it is the hive bottom (B) that gets the rabbet, not the base (A). It is always helpful when you write technically if the part identifying letter is set out in the text to avoid confusion. A guy like me generally lives in a state of confusion anyway, so not much hope, but sometimes I can make out a letter easier than a word.

I never did use the tenon jig. I was able to cut all the rabbets and tenons just using my dado blade. So don't let the tenon jig scare you away. I personally avoid tenons when possible, and when I am making a lot of them I use a router and jig.

OK, so one other question / point. The Plans call for the hive ledges (J) to be attached to the sides. These provide a wide resting place for the cover. But there is nothing to keep the cover from sliding off.

So I attached the hive ledge to the ends of the cover, like a migratory top, thereby securing the cover to the hive body.

I looked for the Original Langstroth patent on line but couldn't find it, and my copy of Hive and the Honeybee is missing in action. I wanted to double check the patent on this point.

All in all, though, it is a nice little project and I deeply appreciate Peter putting the time together to write up the article.

The proportions of the hive are very pleasing and there is a hidden theological message in the measurements that you don't see until you build it. I am sure Rev. Langstroth was sending us a sermon through the centuries.