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So do the bees in the upper chamber enter and leave through the notch? Is this a temporary measure until the colonies have become fully accustomed to each other?

I've never seen such a shallow eke. My ekes are all the same, about half the height of a super. Agree that 10-15 mm would probably do the trick. Don't know what a notched eke is.

Wouldn't an eke lead to the production of brace comb? I would have thought an old top (inner cover) with the ply removed would do the job better. Go round the inner edge with a sharp knife (take care) or use a coping saw.

I would just take the internal dimensions from an existing brood box, super etc and make the best copies you can. If it is a success you will have to expand at some point and that will mean begging, buying or borrowing kit urgently - you may not have time to keep building supers whenever there...

Bees crawling up your trouser legs? You need a pair of wellies with the trouser bottoms tucked firmly inside. An alternative would be to tie up up the trouser bottoms with string. Bees stinging through gloves sounds like poor gloves or very aggressive bees. It used to happen to me occasionally...

I have been keeping bees for about 15 years but have never had any luck finding an unmarked queen. My eyes just aren't up to it. Does anyone have any tips? I have been getting by but procedures requiring location of the queen are closed to me.

You need to loosen one of the frames, it doesn't matter which. Identify a soft target and then drive the hive tool or any thin knife between the frame and its neighbours. Once one has been removed the rest should be easy. There's no reason why you shouldn't remove two or even three in a block if...