woodware

[Drake]

Many of you know I lost most of my stuff to hurricane Ike (didn't have bees yet!) But since starting over I have time before the spring gets here to gather equipment. I want enough equipment for two active hives and enough for a 3rd for emergency (or i need replacement parts)

I was thinking of getting the following items (amounts may vary depending if i get all I want )

hive stands
bottom boards (screened?)
slatted racks (help control our heat down here in the summer)
medium boxes (I think I want touse same size for both hive chamber and supers)
frames
queen excluders
inner covers
outer covers

Thinking I miss anything I might need? (i didn't include quantities on purpose, as I am trying to determine what kind of boxes/frames/foundations to get)

Think its a bit much to go for 3 sets of equipment for only starting out with 2 hives? Can i safely get away just getting enough for 2 hives for the first year or so? Did miss anything?

drake

[jrtrapper]

feeders of some sort,protective gear,get the extra boxes and frames at least you may need them in an emergency, I did and had to scramble around and manufacture an emergency bee house!

[Drake]

i haven't settled on how many hive boxes and/or frames to get yet till i can get some advice from locals on what to use.... If I go new all top of the line for 3 setups, it might brake my bank so to speak.. I am sure i can manufacture some products but would have to invest in tools, which could cost just the same to make my own..

drake

[dhood]

Drake, you said - it might brake my bank so to speak.. -

If your trying to save money, I have spent alot of time on this project, so here are a few tips.

-hive stands look good, but they are not necessary. Just set them on blocks so that the bottom board doesn't rot.

-bottom boards, if you are going to buy them make a choice if you want SBB or not, there not that much diff. in price. But you can build solid bottom boards pretty cheap with min. tools needed.

-Not sure about your area, but I've not used slatted racks, and don't intend to.

-Alot of people are going to med. (I've thought about it, and don't think that it is very cost effiecient.) A med super with frames is about the same as a deep. For that reason, the only ones I'll be using is the ones I make with wood that just happened to be that size. Weight is a factor, but I'm young, and 100lb. supers doesn't bother me.

-I started with inner covers, but intend on using migratory tops with no inner covers with all of my new hives to lower the cost.

- If you can pick the stuff up, you will save a lot.

- I'm not a woodworker, but have recently bought a used table saw for about $40, and have found several places to get cheap, or free scrap wood, have built five hives in the last two weeks, and have only spent $35 on glue, wood, paint {the stuff that they mixed wrong at Lowes}, ect.)

- I didn't need supers or excluders the first year, just built them up in two deeps for winter.

- I have been making frames today, and they are simple to make, but time consuming. I don't intend on buying anymore.

Good Luck, Daniel

[tecumseh]

drake list:
hive stands
bottom boards (screened?)
slatted racks (help control our heat down here in the summer)
medium boxes (I think I want touse same size for both hive chamber and supers)
frames
queen excluders
inner covers
outer covers

tecumseh: the question of hive stand should be determined somewhat to exclusively on how bad the fire ants might be at your location. when I toss together a new hive here it typically starts out on a pipe stand (easy to control any fire ant problems) and will eventually (when all grown up) be placed on recycled pallets (impossible to control fireants but the hive is quite capable of defending itself).

bottom board... a small bit of plywood with a cleat nailed onto three sides... I would only go to a screened bottom board if I thought I wished to powdered suger dust the girls for varroa. the depth of the opeing (uncleated side) will have more to do with a hives ventilation than just about anything else you might do. a slatted bottom board (some benefit for sure but questionable if this exceed the cost) would be contray to using powdered sugar as a contol for varroa.

mediums are a good way to go.

I would toss the idea of an inner/outer cover and exclusively use migratory type tops. one less unessential item and by adding two (almost costless) builder's shims the problem of ventilation is fully addressed.

[Drake]

I am diffidently going to go with all medium hives boxes, the only thing that concerns me is.. what if I buy a nuc that isn't medium frames! Hopefully that will be addressed when i get a hold of the person i be buying my nucs from.

Fireants and other pests can get out of control here, if they are not managed well.

As far as migratory type tops, I haven't yet figured out an opinion about them.

Right now the thing I can't make up my mind, beside figuring out which woodware options to go with, is what foundation to go with.. but thats a topic of another thread.

So far I been thinking of going with the dadants beginners beekeeping kit #2 as it starts me off with two mediums and frames along with alot of the other stuff I need replace since the storm. On top of that I prollly buy the rest of the gear to bring me up to 2-3 hives.

drake

[tecumseh]

drake writes:
I am diffidently going to go with all medium hives boxes, the only thing that concerns me is.. what if I buy a nuc that isn't medium frames! Hopefully that will be addressed when i get a hold of the person i be buying my nucs from.

tecumseh replies: I crank out a few nucs in the spring and I make up a few in shallows and medium (illinois) depth boxes. most years I utilize a couple of queen sources plus this next year I will sell some of my own queens.

[Troy]

I have bought woodenware from numerous places and I like the woodenware from rossman the best.

The cypress and quality is top notch. That coupled with the rot resistance of cypress, I think this woodenware is better that I can make myself, even if the wood were free, and of course cypress is not free.