Extra drawn frames & swarm control

[FlowerPlanter]

Pardon my confusion... 4/4? These look like 8 frame boxes.

They might be 10 frames, But each is a duplex.
Right?

[Seymore]

They might be 10 frames, But each is a duplex.
Right?

Oh - of course. I fixated on the total of 8. Thanks for the clarification.

[Michael Palmer]

Nope, not 8 frame. Double 4 frame nuc boxes with a 4 frame super over each nuc...hence 4 over 4

[rail]

How do you fabricate your division boards for the double 4 frame nuc boxes?

[Michael Palmer]

A 3/4"board rabbeted into the front and back of the box. You can use a 1x12 cut down, or two narrower boards ship-lapped together.

[deknow]

Since we buy our boxes (and they already have handholds milled into them), i've been thinking of trying some strips of masonite stapled to the inside of the box to act as the "rabbit". I know one guy down here that did that, and said he had good luck. Of course, the strips can be simply pulled out if not needed.

deknow

[captaintat2]

during a good flow you can use a deep box as a honey super. Once you harvest the honey you will have drawn deep frames to use later. They get heavy but, getting the drawn comb is worth it.

Does the lighter colored wax that is found in honey comb work as well, (being accepted), as the darker brood comb?

[Michael Palmer]

Dean, you only need 1/16" deep rabbet to hold the divider.

Since we buy our boxes (and they already have handholds milled into them), i've been thinking of trying some strips of masonite stapled to the inside of the box to act as the "rabbit". I know one guy down here that did that, and said he had good luck. Of course, the strips can be simply pulled out if not needed.

deknow

[deknow]

Dean, you only need 1/16" deep rabbet to hold the divider.

...which is much easier to put on the inside of the box with a table saw _before_ it is assembled....now, if I could figure out a way to work this with the rabbit on the outside, I'd be in business

deknow (who's nephew is a good worker, and got all the boxes we have in stock assembled)

[Michael Palmer]

You can make the rabbet with a router if the boxes are assembled. Clamp a cleat inside the box to be used as a guide. Set the depth, of the cutter, and slide the router along the cleat. The depth of the cut should match the frame rest so bees can't cross over. If the hand holds are too deep, and the rabbet will cur into them, make it shallower and add a block between the divider and the frame rest to fill in that gap.

[Rader Sidetrack]

... now, if I could figure out a way to work this with the rabbit on the outside, I'd be in business

If all your boxes are already assembled, and you want to divide just a few, cut a scrap piece to the right size to act as a temporary spacer from inside the box wall, then screw the divider in place. Move the spacer to the other end and repeat, and you're done.

If you have a lot of boxes to do, build a router sled/jig from some scrap, sized to fit against a box edge and guide the router in the right location. Stand the boxes on the side you want to route/dado, clamp the sled, cut the slot. Easy peasy.

[deknow]

Mike, yes, I could also do it with a skill saw and a guide....I was just having fun

But more seriously, I do think that newer beeks with little equipment on hand (all of it newish), and limited tooling could cut the masonite and the divider with a skill saw and staple in masonite guides with a $10 electric stapler without making any irreversible changes to the equipment...and hopefully without making ay irreversible changes to the number of fingers on each hand. I'm just saying that for someone without a complete shop setup and with limited experience, this could be accomplished safely and easily at a portable work bench outside on a sunny day with a skill saw.

deknow

[Michael Palmer]

Well, true. But I sure wouldn't use Masonite.

[Tom Davidson]

Mike, yes, I could also do it with a skill saw and a guide....I was just having fun

But more seriously, I do think that newer beeks with little equipment on hand (all of it newish), and limited tooling could cut the masonite and the divider with a skill saw and staple in masonite guides with a $10 electric stapler without making any irreversible changes to the equipment...and hopefully without making ay irreversible changes to the number of fingers on each hand. I'm just saying that for someone without a complete shop setup and with limited experience, this could be accomplished safely and easily at a portable work bench outside on a sunny day with a skill saw.

deknow

I so have little equipment, and currently only a skill saw. I saw this vid from the Fat Bee Man and thought it was pretty brilliant a simple queen castle or a double nuc box:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-c6MQbEs14

I'm a big fan of FBM's vids. I think I'll do what deknow said, attach a strip or extra board inside the walls to make my rabbits, and will make this queen castle / double nuc box.

[AstroBee]

Well, true. But I sure wouldn't use Masonite.

What would be the problem with Masonite? Isn't that what Brushy uses in their queen castes?

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com...oductinfo/687/

[Michael Palmer]

it warps and twists and, IMO, isn't thick enough.

[AstroBee]

Maybe I'm wrong about what Brushy uses. It is smooth on both sides. The two castles that I've used for the past two years have done well - no warping. However, one problem with them is that the dividers are VERY hard to remove once the bees glue them in place. I've almost had to destroy them to get them out.

[winevines]

Maybe I'm wrong about what Brushy uses. It is smooth on both sides. The two castles that I've used for the past two years have done well - no warping. However, one problem with them is that the dividers are VERY hard to remove once the bees glue them in place. I've almost had to destroy them to get them out.

I use them too, and it is masonite. I can see over time they are not going to cut it and wood is going to be better. Try a hammer- that seems to help crack the seal, but does not work too well when the rest is filled with bees :-)

[JRG13]

Nice pics MP.

[Adam Foster Collins]

I'm making dividers that hang from the frame rests. 3/4" thick stock. No box modification.

Adam