winter project

Hi, Iam looking to build my own hives, could anyone point me in the right direction ? many thanks Terry.

Lots of plans: http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/

and loads elsehwere.
What kind if hive? There are lots.
Which specification? They vary.
How good are you at woodworking? Some require skill and tools.

What do you know about bees?
If nothing/little, time spent finding out will save you a lot of time and money.

Have you ever handled bees?
Do you react to stings?

It is better to learn about bees and beekeeping first and build hives from kits (think MFI and furniture) - cheaper and easier.

Have a look at the Scottish beekeeping website and they have plans for all hives in the download section
Its hard to make a good hive economically that doesn't weigh heavy though unless you have a source of free materials

madasafish said:

Lots of plans: http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/

and loads elsehwere.
What kind if hive? There are lots.
Which specification? They vary.
How good are you at woodworking? Some require skill and tools.

What do you know about bees?
If nothing/little, time spent finding out will save you a lot of time and money.

Have you ever handled bees?
Do you react to stings?

It is better to learn about bees and beekeeping first and build hives from kits (think MFI and furniture) - cheaper and easier.

Click to expand...

Don't waste time doing woodwork until you know what actually matters. Both to the bees and to you.
The autumn sales are going to start in a few weeks, and decent quality flatpacks can be obtained very reasonably.
However, the hives can be obtained very very much more quickly than beekeeping knowledge - that's where you should be spending your time!

Have a look at some of my posts on this forum, I have been making a few supers and 14x12 brood boxes. The 14x12 wood needs to be jointed to get the 12½" 315mm width needed (unless you can source Cedar in that width). I found a variety of drawings showing different rebate rail sizes, after a few dummy runs the rebate I now use is 19mmx12mm. I have produce Auto Cad drawings of the pieces I make. Are you planning on using solid wood or plywood?

Dave Cushman website (Google for it) surely has plenty too.

.
That is usefull. Then you learn the dimensions and gaps why they are in the hive.
Then you understand better the quality, features and price of hives on open markets.

You get good table saws with £ 100-150

there are materials other than wood to build hives from

Hi Froggy
Search the forum for a thread on red cedar. You are not far from the Forest of Dean and the saw mill at Usk. I have recently been in contact with them and I am collecting enough timber in a couple of weeks to make 5 modified WBC stands roofs and 20 lifts for just over £200. I believe someone on the thread had enough timber for 5 National 14X12 brood boxes and other hive parts for a lesser figure from the same source.
http://www.cilfiegansawmill.com

As someone who built his own first hive (and is still rebuilding it to get it right !) my advice would be wait for the sales (Thornes etc. for timber, Paynes for Polys) and buy one to understand how they work and fit together ... the boxes are the hard bit ... you can save money by just buying these and making your own stands, roofs, floors and crown boards all of which are dead easy to make and are not as dimensionally critical as the box. Same again with the frames... really cheap seconds in the winter sales some of which are already underway ...

Thornes : http://www.thorne.co.uk/2015-sale-days

Paynes: http://www.paynesbeefarm.co.uk/sale/

Maisemore: http://www.deanforestbeekeepers.co.uk/sale-on-at-maisemore/

(Probably the nearest to you)

Mann Lake: http://www.mannlake.co.uk/beekeepin...and-promotions&Per_Page=24&Sort_By=disp_order

(Seem to have a permanent sale on !).

There are others but you will find enough in this lot to spend all your pocket money !!

I once built my own hives but seen the errors of my ways and now buy second quality brood boxes and just make the floors, stands, crown boards and roofs.