I'm just getting started in beekeeping and was wondering what is the best wood for making hive boxes. I am a woodworker, and I can get white pine, yellow pine, and cypress at my local lumber yard, although the cypress is about twice the cost of the white pine.
Are there any woods that are better suited for the hive boxes or can you use whatever is available?
I make mine out of what's available at the time..I pick up spare lumber all the time laying around worksites...pine/spruce are the cheapest. But If money was no object, I'd probably go with cypress or cedar since they tend to stand the weather better. But you can paint the pine/spruce boxes and they'll last longer.
I make mine out of what's available at the time..I pick up spare lumber all the time laying around worksites...pine/spruce are the cheapest. But If money was no object, I'd probably go with cypress or cedar since they tend to stand the weather better. But you can paint the pine/spruce boxes and they'll last longer.
I'm interested in a cedar Langstroth but can't find a supplier. I only see cedar parts in the catalogs. I'm brandnew to this and ramping up for my first hive for 2011 so I may not know where to look. I'd be grateful for a lead, otherwise I'll go with what is available.
If cost is no object, Teak. Teak's natural oils make it useful in exposed locations, and also termite and pest resistant. Teak is durable even when not treated with oil or varnish.
we have an old house on our place that partially burned years ago. the outside is lap siding. western cedar I believe is the wood. It's 11 inches or so wide, but only 5/8 thick, not the 3/4 most will use for supers. but it makes some sweet Top Bar Hives! I need to go tear more off asap
I use ¾ plywood, some have been in continuous use for nine years except for needing a new paint job are still solid. The only drawback a deep super is three pounds heavier. I can get six deeps and three mediums from a 4X8 sheet. Last cost at my local lowes $16.95
Tom, I second cheap pine. Boxes are easy. I keep an eye on craigslist. Every now and then I get free or cheap pine boards, and then in the winter when the bees can't be worked I make boxes. You can even join boards together to make the deeps if there is no 1 by 12 to be had. Adrian.
and buy cheap paint i dont mean cheap quialty just mistented paint that people didnt like after it was mixed. you can get it real cheap at wal mart,lowes,and home depot . the bees dont care what color it is so get creative
Don't use Cypress I started with some Cypress and Pine . Painted them both with the same paint and put on three coats. Both sat in the garage for a few weeks. Then the wife was getting tired of seeing them so she suggested to set them up out side. I set them up the same way next to each other on stands. The ones I purchased made of Cypress from Rossmans warped big time. The ones my friend made out of good ol pine are straight as a arrowl. Even the two telescoping covers I purchased warped and leaked after the first rain storm.
So save your money and buy pine and put some good paint on them and take care of them they will be fine.
Oh by the way Rossmans has not responded to any of my letters or phone calls about there supers. Maybe they are to busy.:no:
Drats, I hope your wrong about Cypress wood. I just received my order from Rossman for two cypress 8 frame hives and a NUC. Since I only have a few hives I sprang for the select cypress after reading everyone raving about how great cypress wood is. I put some clear wood sealant/clearcoat on them as it rains allot where I live. They turned out beautiful and hopefully they don't warp to bad. I have had white pine warp on me also. That said white pine has been the industry choice forever. Its cheap and durable as long as you paint or seal it. I could buy two commercial grade pine hives for what I paid for one cypress select.
Well Brooklyn you might be right. I have white pine, Hemlock, Dug Fir, Western redwood, and cypruss. I only painted one of my hives and it looks the worst for wear.
Has anyone ever tried Sassafras? It is light, durable, and has a decent weather rot resistance. I have quite a few sassafras tree's on my property and have thought about. I agree with most on the sight that just about any wood would work. I think weight definetly should play into the decision and then rot resistance. I have also wondered about Beech. Both these specicies have a tendecy to grow hollow in nature and wonder if they may be a more natural habitat.
Among the many species of wood used for lumber, quality is highly variable between cuts and between one board and another. Unfortunately quality lumber, of whichever species is selected, along with increased quality of the finished product, usually includes an increased price tag for the higher quality lumber.
Awhile ago, when I worked as a handyman/carpenter, I sometimes had exacting customers, this was in the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. When working those jobs for customers with very deep pockets and a strong interest in quality, I had the fortunate experience to discover how nice it was to work with the highest quality lumber of many different species. Quartersawn Wenge is very nice, I'm sure it would make very nice supers. Ash, holly, white oak, birch, and osage orange are also nice woods that would probably make fine supers, some would be heavy, but they would certainly be very strong.
I'm a woodworker, too. (Yes, I'm a girl) I opt for white pine as it's easy to obtain, work, & takes paint just fine. I even have my husband & granddaughter trained for the rare occasions I send them to "pick" lumber for me--straight grain, no cups, warps, twists or too many knotholes.
Also stay away from any TREATED wood. I won't use OSB or similarly assembled materials because of potential off-gassing.
And I second the recommendation for "oops" paint. I picked up two gallons of Behr's Severe Weather paint for $5 each at Home Depot. A light celery green, so it matches my house nicely. I've painted everything is sight & still haven't gone thru the first gallon. Sherwin Williams sells Duration exterior paint. Highly recommended.
I have to admit, cypress or teak or some other exotic wood would be a sight to behold. But the bees seem perfectly happy in lowes plywood. They are easy to hammer out and I can afford to keep a lot more bees for a lot less money. I do splurge and buy a better quality paint, but that is for lazy reasons, I don’t like to paint as often.
I am currently operating 30 hives.
A big "thanks" to all of you for your advice and perspective on the question of which wood to choose for hive boxes. I have gleaned a lot of helpful information from you all! Thanks for your willingness to share your knowledge with me.
i was going to start my own thread on this after i just got back from the hardware store and couldn't find what i was after. My existing boxes bough comercialy seem to be 7/8 thick and all the easily found lumber is 3/4... i know its a 1*12 but its true dimension is 3/4.
Also the 1*12 localy is around 7 bucks for 6 feet.. is that decent?
That 1x12x6' long board is approx $9 here around central ky (United States) so to me thats a good Deal!
I would like to find cedar lumber in 1x12 and 1x8...If anyone knows of any lumber yards that might cut alot of cedar that may have some rough cut, check the prices out. I would like to make a 2-Deep 10 Frame lang out of cedar lumber and treat the outside with natural oil finish to keep the natural cedar look!! Thank you!
Yes, the 1"x12" will work, plus you'll have some cut-offs to make yourself some sturdy hand-holds. You can buy the wood at Lowes or Home Depot - 3/4" white pine seems to work pretty well. Go through their pile and pick the ones with the least and tightest knots in them.
As for the dimensions, here's a link to a plan for the deep Langstroth hive.
afss, you can find the build plans right here on beesource.com! I believe tom fran has submitted the link...Just click on that link and you will beable to view the build plans! Same build plans i used on my first hive i built! Good Luck!!
If you would rather go with an 8 frame hive, you could order (1) from a supplier and use that one as your pattern (that's what I did). If you know how to make your own equipment, that may be the last one you'll ever have to buy.
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