[Maplevalleykennel]

I am now thinking about starting 4 medium langs and 4 topbar hives next year. I would like to, perhaps, expand into a sideline business eventually which will probably be all langs, although I plan on keeping the topbars going at home.
My question is: can I somehow tie, wire, or band the brood from the ktbh into foundationless medium frames for a lang?

 

[AZBEEK]

I just did that a few days ago, I made up some metal hooks out of #1/2 hardware cloth wrapped around the bars and pinned the comb onto the hooks. The comb is very fragile so be careful not bump or bounce while moving the hive away from the original hive. The honey comb is a different story, you can only use half of the comb to pin onto the wire hooks as the full comb is to heavy and will fall off. I did have a robbing situation as I did not move the new hive far enough away from the original hive. So lesson learned I will have to start over.

 

[Colino]

I am now thinking about starting 4 medium langs and 4 topbar hives next year. I would like to, perhaps, expand into a sideline business eventually which will probably be all langs, although I plan on keeping the topbars going at home.
My question is: can I somehow tie, wire, or band the brood from the ktbh into foundationless medium frames for a lang?

Because of the depth of top bar comb you will have to shorten it to fit in a medium frame. I just moved a swarm from my top bar trap to a Lang Deep. All I did was screw a 1"X3/8"X19-7/8" piece of wood to the top bars and hung them in the Deep. I checker boarded some with regular deep frames. No cutting of comb, no killing brood, no causing robbing, no collapsed comb etc. The girls are happy, happy!
Colino

 

[KbeeG]

Hang (attach) a Lang Top Bar under your TBH top bar. Once it is drawn out add the lang sides and bottom then place in a lang box. Won't help with the drawn TBH frames now. Cutout and rubber band those.

 

[jwcarlson]

Because of the depth of top bar comb you will have to shorten it to fit in a medium frame. I just moved a swarm from my top bar trap to a Lang Deep. All I did was screw a 1"X3/8"X19-7/8" piece of wood to the top bars and hung them in the Deep. I checker boarded some with regular deep frames. No cutting of comb, no killing brood, no causing robbing, no collapsed comb etc. The girls are happy, happy!
Colino

My Les Crowder design TBHs would fit into a medium frame when cut off of the top bard, or at least close enough that it wouldn't be a big deal, very minor trimming.

I just made sure I designed my top bars so that they would sit in a Lang. I've moved two swarms we captured and put into TBH nucs into Langs. They just build them out to the size of a deep frame.

 

[Colino]

My Les Crowder design TBHs would fit into a medium frame when cut off of the top bard, or at least close enough that it wouldn't be a big deal, very minor trimming.

I just made sure I designed my top bars so that they would sit in a Lang. I've moved two swarms we captured and put into TBH nucs into Langs. They just build them out to the size of a deep frame.

I used Phil Chandlers design so my top bars are only 17" long. The hive itself is 11" deep so mediums just won't work for me. This winter I'm going to build all Lang style traps so I won't have to convert anymore but they aren't as easy to hang in trees as the mini TBH's.
Colino

 

[plcnut]

Here is how I made deep Nucs from one of my KTBH's:
(Click for the video)



Pre drill 2 holes in the top and bottom bars so that you can insert bamboo skewers to stabilize the combs.

 

[estreya]

Brilliant video, Plcnut. Thank you for posting it!