Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What You’re Not to Read 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book Is Organized 3
Part 1: The Buzz on Beehives 4
Part 2: The World’s Most Popular Beehive Designs 4
Part 3: Sweet Beehive Accessories 4
Part 4: The Part of Tens 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Beyond the Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part 1: The Buzz On Beehives 7
Chapter 1: Getting Sweet on Building Your Own Beehives 9
Bee-ing in the Know about Bees 10
Honeybees’ most important job: Pollination 10
The products of the honeybee 11
The main players in a beehive 12
Appreciating the Benefits of Building a Beehive Rather than Buying One 14
Have fun and feel self-satisfaction 14
Enhance your commitment to beekeeping, and better understand your bees’ home 14
Modify designs to better meet your needs 14
Enjoy better quality than store-bought kits 15
Go green and recycle 15
Make building a family affair 15
Sell your handiwork 15
Making Plans for Your Own Beehive 15
Setting Up Your Workshop 16
Assembling Tools and Materials 16
Getting a Handle on Carpentry Skills 17
Constructing Hives and Accessories 17
Chapter 2: Comb Sweet Comb: Beehive Basics 21
Knowing What Bees Need in a Hive 21
Shelter and safety 21
The ability to expand 22
Dry and well-ventilated conditions 22
A nearby source of water 22
Understanding the Anatomy of a Beehive 23
Elevated hive stand 24
Bottom board 25
Entrance reducer 25
Deep hive bodies 25
Honey super 25
Frames 26
Inner cover 27
Outer cover 27
Looking at Locale 28
Following regional laws and requirements 28
Bee-ing sweet to your neighbors 28
Picking the perfect location 29
Making a Beeline to the Hive That’s Best for Your Needs 31
A hive for learning and teaching 32
Hives for pollinating your garden 32
A hive for harvesting honey 32
Hives to match your building skills 32
Hives for selling 33
A handy table to help you decide the hive to build 33
Chapter 3: Gathering Basic Tools and Materials 35
Bee-ing Safe Before You Begin 35
Protecting yourself with safety gear 36
Following safety practices 38
Oops! Planning for emergencies 38
Talking about Tools 39
A few essential hand tools 39
The right saws and blades 42
Gadgets that are nice to have but not essential 43
Looking at Lumber 45
Choosing lumber 45
Sizing up lumber 47
Getting the scoop on plywood 48
The Buzz on Other Building Materials 49
Fixating on fasteners 49
Rifling through roofing materials 50
Selecting screening materials 51
Protecting Your Beehives with Paint and More 51
Estimating the Amounts and Costs of Materials 52
Chapter 4: Fine-Tuning Your Carpentry Skills 55
Always Adhering to the “Bee Space” 55
Measuring and Marking Lumber 56
Cutting Lumber 58
What’s Up with This Joint? 59
Butt joints 59
Rabbet cuts and dado joints 60
Finger joints 61
Working with Flashing and Wire 63
Cutting and bending metal flashing 63
Cutting and shaping wire hardware cloth 64
Assembling the Parts of Your Hive 65
Going with glue 65
Being square 65
Nailing and screwing everything together 66
Part 2: The World’s Most Popular Beehive Designs 67
Chapter 5: The Kenya Top Bar Hive 69
Vital Stats 71
Materials List 72
Cut List 72
Elevated hive stand 73
Hive body 74
Top bars 75
Ventilated roof 76
Assembling the Hive 77
Chapter 6: The Five-Frame Nuc Hive 81
Vital Stats 82
Materials List 83
Cut List 83
Bottom board 84
Hive body 85
Inner hive cover 86
Outer hive cover 88
Assembling the Hive 89
Chapter 7: The Four-Frame Observation Hive 95
Vital Stats 97
Materials List 97
Cut List 98
Hive body and top 98
Bottom board 100
Assembling the Hive 100
Chapter 8: The Warre Hive 105
Vital Stats 107
Materials List 107
Cut List 108
Hive bottom and stand 109
Hive boxes 110
Top bars 111
Quilt box 112
Ventilated roof 112
Assembling the Hive 114
Chapter 9: The British National Hive 119
Vital Stats 120
Materials List 121
Cut List 122
Floor 122
Brood chamber 124
Shallow honey supers 125
Making tricky cuts for hand and drip rails 126
Deep and shallow frames 127
Making tricky cuts for side bars 130
Making tricky cuts for top bars 130
Crown board 131
Roof 132
Assembling the Hive 134
Chapter 10: The Langstroth Hive 141
Vital Stats 142
Materials List 143
Cut List 144
Bottom board (ten-frame version) 145
Bottom board (eight-frame version) 147
Deep hive bodies (ten-frame version) 147
Deep hive bodies (eight-frame version) 149
Medium super (ten-frame version) 149
Medium super (eight-frame version) 150
Inner hive cover (ten-frame version) 151
Inner hive cover (eight-frame version) 153
Outer hive cover (ten-frame version) 153
Outer hive cover (eight-frame version) 155
Assembling the Hive 156
Part 3: Sweet Beehive Accessories 161
Chapter 11: The Frame Jig 163
Vital Stats 164
Materials List 164
Cut List 165
Assembling the Frame Jig 166
Chapter 12: The Double Screened Inner Cover 169
Vital Stats 170
Materials List 171
Cut List 171
Double screened inner cover for the ten-frame Langstroth hive 172
Double screened inner cover for the eight-frame Langstroth hive 174
Double screened inner cover for the nuc hive 175
Double screened inner cover for the British National hive 175
Assembling the Inner Cover 176
Chapter 13: The Elevated Hive Stand 179
Vital Stats 180
Materials List 180
Cut List 181
Assembling the Elevated Hive Stand 182
Chapter 14: The IPM Screened Bottom Board 185
Vital Stats 186
Materials List 187
Cut List 188
Assembling the IPM Screened Bottom Board 190
Chapter 15: The Hive-Top Feeder 193
Vital Stats 194
Materials List 195
Cut List 195
Feeder for a ten-frame Langstroth hive 196
Feeder for an eight-frame Langstroth hive 198
Assembling the Hive-Top Feeder 199
Chapter 16: The Solar Wax Melter 203
Vital Stats 204
Materials List 204
Cut List 205
Floor assembly 205
Inclined side panels 206
Glazed top assembly 207
Assembling the Solar Wax Melter 208
Chapter 17: Langstroth Frames 213
Vital Stats 214
Materials List 215
Cut List 216
Deep frames 216
Medium frames 217
Shallow frames 217
Making tricky cuts for side bars 219
Making tricky cuts for top bars 220
Assembling Langstroth Frames 222
Part 4: The Part Of Tens 225
Chapter 18: Ten (Or So) Tips for Extending the Life of Your Equipment 227
Don’t Go Cheap on Materials 227
Keep a Build Log 228
Establish an Inspection Routine 228
Prepare Your Hives for Winter 229
Do Some Spring Cleaning 229
Make Yearly Exterior Touch-Ups 230
Repair the Roof 231
Replace Rotting Wood 231
Elevate Your Hives 231
Provide Proper Ventilation 232
Guard against Bears with an Electric Fence 233
Chapter 19: Ten (Or So) Ways to Trick Out Your Hives 235
Use Decorative Handles and Embellishments 236
Add Metal Frame Rests 237
Employ Exotic Woods 238
Paint Creatively 239
Shingle the Sides 240
Add a Front Porch 241
Make Your Inner Cover Transparent 241
Cut an Observation Window in the Hive Body 242
Use Alternate Roof Materials 243
Make Architectural Alterations to Your Roof 243
Mount a Webcam to Your Hive 243
Chapter 20: Ten Fun Facts about Beehives 245
Discovering the First Recorded Depiction of a Beehive 245
Unearthing the World’s Oldest Beehives 246
Recounting a Brief History of Beehives around the Globe 246
Bee-ing the Beehive State 247
Studying Beehives in Outer Space 247
Finding the Largest Beehive in the World 248
Using Beehives for Design Inspiration 248
Creating Beehives for Bumblebees 248
Moving a Beehive without Confusing Your Bees 249
Transporting Migratory Beehives 249
Index 251
