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Hive construction question

4K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  newbury 
#1 ·
Hey there,

I'm getting ready to build my first top bar hives and was wondering what are the best materials to use for the walls, floor and ends and why. I have 3 books on top bar hives and only one suggests pine, cedar or redwood but gives no reasons for that choice.

Thanks for the help,

Daniel
 
#3 ·
Welcome to Beesource!

My opinion is that the best wood to use is free wood. :D If you are buying wood, these days redwood is unlikely to be "heartwood", and so has no significant longevity value. The same may apply to cedar, depending on your source. Pine is readily available, and generally the most affordable.

If you haven't yet seen Michael Bush's Top Bar page, its worth a look:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm
 
#8 ·
Reviving this old thread because I have the same question


I've got "free wood". Free as in I see a tree, get it to lay down, run it thru my sawmill in 10 foot lengths and up to 20" widths.. Right now I've mostly sweetgum, pine, oak, red maple and some eastern red cedar in approximately 3/4" to 4" thickness, various widths (~8" to 20") dried. Plus I've all the tools to process it further, saws, planer etc.

Based on my readings so far I was thinking of using the cedar. But can the cedar be a problem for the bees?

Are there an "ideal" woods that I'm liable to find in north Mississippi? I've got about 400 acres of timber and a lot of it is mixed hardwood so IF Hickory (for instance) would hlep the bees double honey flow I could probably do it. Don't have any cypress :(

thanks in advanc
 
#4 ·
Yes I have seen Michael Bush's site and I have his books. I'm using Magnum's master template dimensions without the landing boards and handles and Bush's top entrance, length, top bars and migratory cover. It should be a fun project for me next week. Also I will get a bit artistic and burn some pictures on the fronts.
 
#7 ·
Make it so you can put (langstroth) supers on top. Also, put an entrance at each end for ventilation.

Most Top Bar Hives are no where near long enough, and the bees will fill it up and then swarm unless you can put supers on top.

That's why I'm making Long Lang Hives. You can use top bars in these if you want, but you can also use standard frames.
 
#10 ·
newbury-cedar won't be a problem for your bees. Several beeks have posted of finding feral hives in old hollow cedar trees. Pine in a 1" thickness (actual not nominal) would give better insulation than the store bought hives and last a long time if painted or stained with a good quality product.
 
#11 ·
newbury-cedar won't be a problem for your bees. Several beeks have posted of finding feral hives in old hollow cedar trees. Pine in a 1" thickness (actual not nominal) would give better insulation than the store bought hives and last a long time if painted or stained with a good quality product.
I used some un-standard thickness wood and untill I got my first pattern hive done I ruined a few peices of wood. I guess my math sucked. I only point this out so that if you are using printed plans you do have to make adjustments if you want proper bee space. Even harder if you are mixing standard and nonstandard wood. My point is to make one first and check that you have it correct and use the correct one for you mass producing cuts.
Just my opinion
gww
 
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