Building The Bee Hives In Pictures

[pdilley]

Hey hizmo,


No windows on the Warre hive, they don't need any. For the most part its by observation you will know you need to add more boxes. The bees will be bearding out the front as with heat, and will also be a different temperament as they are getting niggly for not having any room left to keep building out. Once you add boxes they go back into normal mode and build out like crazy.


The main information site in English is:
http://warre.biobees.com/

There you can get an English translation of Warre's book describing the bee hive (and others for comparison) and he style of beekeeping.

I'd make a change to the jig in hindsight. I would glue the strip further in on the board giving lots of wood behind for multiple clamping points. Helps the motor housing clear the end points of the jig easier.

Lots and lots of photos on building the Warre hive, just waiting until I am completely done to do a post so they are all stuck on my computer drive for now. Have switched hours at work and get home later so bad week for energy to work into the night on the table saw. Need some good hearing protection as well as only run the saw a few times and its a definite impact on hearing.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete


P.S. On that web site fixed frames means Top Bars. He nailed his in. To make it legal and fully inspectable you get around that by cutting the nail heads off and then the top bars can slide up and off the guide nail shafts that keep them spaced properly when inserted into the box.

 

[himzol]

Thanks Pete,

I've been visiting that site and have printed the book off. I find reading a book on the screen a pain. Also downloaded the plans and as you are aware have started building. I haven't assembled anything as I wasn't sure if I needed to put windows in, what you describe seems reasonable so I may just have the thing finished this weekend, well with two boxes at least.

If I get it finished would it be too late to get bees?

BTW, thanks for the insperation, my woodworking toys have been sitting idle for far too long..

Himzo.

 

[pdilley]

Hey hiz,

Not late yet Mate! get crackin!

Its at least 2 months of bee swarm season yet with the healthy swarming happening just around now and at least here in Canberra its hot and heavy swarm action. 14 hives filled in a day.

Cheers,
BP

 

[himzol]

Cheers Pete,

I have a fence to rebuild at my parents place this weekend, but should be close to finishing at least one hive with two boxes. I'll drop around to the central market and get some lemon grass ooil and some wax for the top bars. Fortunately I already have plenty of linseed oil.

I'll see if I can get some photos tonight, before I start assembling. I'm going to make the roof out of cedar as it will keep the wieght down a bit.

Himzo.

 

[altone]

Hey BP, have you built that Warre hive yet? and if so, did you go with the traditional materials or more plywood?

If you went the plywood route - please post some info on how you built them - sizes,finish etc.

If you went oldschool. I'll keep looking for some thick pine boards..... 25mm plus thick seems hard to get hold of though.

I now aim to get 3 hives running before the end of this season - split between Kenyan TBH and Warre.

 

[pdilley]

Hey Gerry,

Yes and No! -- I ended up shifted work hours so lost all my work time in the shed after day job in the regular week. Last Sunday was rain so only had last Saturday to work. And I spent it all with the table saw cutting up top bars for Warre Hives.

I figured if I'm going to do it I might as well make enough bars for 4 Warre Hives

So I started and just finished today at 5PM.

I am guessing I have made about 192 Warra Top Bars, with all the intricate cuts compared to the Kenyan Top Bar Hives.

I have a Warre hive almost built. It just needs the mouse board cut out for going on top of the quilt and add the top bars I cut out and it is ready to go! (if it does not rain tomorrow I will finish it by tomorrow).

I looks really bitchin!


I am using standard 21mm C/D Plywood Sheet from Bunnings. You get 1 Warre hive from that. I also use the thin 9mm C/D ply I got before to make the covers to the Kenyan Top Bar Hives to use for the mouse board since its a thin bit of wood called for.

You get 2 KTBHs out of a 21mm C/D Ply Sheet.
You get only 1 Warre out of a 21mm C/D Ply Sheet... but your getting 6 Warre boxes to stack, one Quilt box, one roof, one floor, one landing board, etc.


I have all the cut out diagrams courtesy of another Warre builder in Canberra on the biobees forum. We've been swapping lots of building ideas as we both built out. He already has his Warre done and first swarm of bees in there for two weeks. They are doing fantastic!


Warre takes just a bit more time to build than Kenyan Top Bar Hive but its very close. You save money in hardware as no legs, bolts, hinges, etc. So the Warre is cheaper to build in materials but more expensive in labour time, but I say it all evens out.


I aim to get 4 (or 3 if I get rained out) Warre Top Bar Hives and 2 Kenyan Top Bar Hives running this season. I think I can do it since both KTBHs are now full of bees, and the first Warre is 95% built.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[pdilley]

Warre Teaser Photo
Mouse board not attached to roof so it slides over the quilt box instead of resting on top. That will be fixed once the mouse board is attached to the roof.



Cutting Diagram for a 21mm C/D Ply Sheet from Bunnings (Cutting Guide is optional if you wish to follow along with building your own guide, need the 9mm C/D Ply sheet to make it, well you need the 9mm sheet anyway to do the Quilt Mouse Cover [I didn't cut it out of 21mm ply])


Assembly Diagram


The Free Book Behind It All
Warre Book (PDF) Download Here


More

Bottom Board Glue Up with Landing Board
I used scrap wood to cut into square for each edge to give lots of wood to screw leg posts into if thats my plan. Or make a nice stable rest on top of some "hollow" bricks.. solid bricks just weep up water and damp which is not good.


Looking down the tower of boxes with notches cut in their sides for bars to sit in.


1mm gap between top of bars and top of Warre Box


Bars from Below


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[pdilley]

One quick note, missing from the cutting diagram is the roof cap strip.

If you see that big grey empty space at the top in the middle and look at the skinny grey empty space to its left, thats where I'd cut out the roof cap.


With the 50mm cutting guide, if you built one or you don't want one, use it to rip into strips to make lifting handles to glue to the front and back of each Warre Box as shown in the Assembly Guide diagram.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[himzol]

Hi Pete,

What are the regulations in Canberra regarding the Warre Hive, I soke to the local PIRSA guy here in Adelaide regarding permits etc.. first worry was when he had never heard of them. The biggest worry is that the regs here state that hives must have removable frames, apparently this is for inspection perposes.

Just wondering if it's the same in Canberra and how you get around it?

BTW your build looks good, a bit better than mine at the moment... I'm using recycled Oak and have to laminate things before cutting to size... I've got two boxes, floor, and quilt ready for assembly and am currently working on the roof...I think for the next hive I may go down the plywood path...

Himzo

 

[pdilley]

Hey Hizmo,


If you take a nail and bang it half way into a block of wood with a hammer and then cut the nail head off what you end up with is a shaft of nail metal sticking up out of the wood like a pin.

If you take your top bars and drill a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the nail shaft you have top bars that will slide up and down over the shaft of nail metal like a guide.

If you do this to all the boxes in your Warre hive then all the bars will slide up and off the nail shafts and just as easily slide back down them again.

Congratulations, you are completely legal and capable of removable combs for inspection if the need so arises.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

P.S. You could save some cutting effort if you just use finishing nails

P.P.S. Always pre-drill your nail holes to prevent wood splitting.

 

[altone]

Hey Hizmo,


If you take a nail and bang it half way into a block of wood with a hammer and then cut the nail head off what you end up with is a shaft of nail metal sticking up out of the wood like a pin.

If you take your top bars and drill a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the nail shaft you have top bars that will slide up and down over the shaft of nail metal like a guide.

If you do this to all the boxes in your Warre hive then all the bars will slide up and off the nail shafts and just as easily slide back down them again.

Congratulations, you are completely legal and capable of removable combs for inspection if the need so arises.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

P.S. You could save some cutting effort if you just use finishing nails

P.P.S. Always pre-drill your nail holes to prevent wood splitting.

Ooops oh yes, gotta check the local rules for hives - will ask the local beekeepers group before I go crazy and build the Warre - just in case.

I know the Kenyans are ok down in VIC.

<edit> Sure, I kmow they might be "inspectable" with the pin setup, but will the inspector be happy most likely having to cut the comb out to inspect the hive? - better ask first...

Great job BP.

 

[fergi]

howdy guys, i am currently thinking about starting a beehive collection.i live out in the farming country north of adelaide, i have a mate who has about a thousand acres that he farms so i can set up a hive or two on his property, i have only just started reading about keeping bees and currently i am reading about the methods on the net, surprised to find AHB guys doing the same. bee stings are not what i would like to get so one question is if you buy a really good bee suit can you make it inpenetrable to bees getting in to sting you or is it impossible to get a fullproof bee suit.
cheers
fergi

 

[himzol]

Hey Hizmo,


If you take a nail and bang it half way into a block of wood with a hammer and then cut the nail head off what you end up with is a shaft of nail metal sticking up out of the wood like a pin.

If you take your top bars and drill a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the nail shaft you have top bars that will slide up and down over the shaft of nail metal like a guide.

If you do this to all the boxes in your Warre hive then all the bars will slide up and off the nail shafts and just as easily slide back down them again.

Congratulations, you are completely legal and capable of removable combs for inspection if the need so arises.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

P.S. You could save some cutting effort if you just use finishing nails

P.P.S. Always pre-drill your nail holes to prevent wood splitting.

Thanks Pete,

I was planning on doing this as well. I'm hopeing it will be enough.

I started assembly this afternoon, I started with the quilt. I'm trying to avoid using any metal in the construction, but may wind up having to use some screws as I feel I'm losing time just trying to glue everything.. If I do I will be using stainless screws..read somewhere they have less effect on the bees as they aren't magnetic. I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but the fact that they will be out in the weather makes sense to use them.

Just out of curiosity, how many boxes per hive should I plan for? I noticed you had six, won't this get a bit heavy trying to lift the five boxes plus quilt and roof? Are you planning on making one of those hoists I saw on the other web site?

Himzo

 

[Dasar]

There is no such thing as a fullproof bee suit;

They will either wait till your geting out of it and then get even with you, (when you think you have walked far enough away to take a leak, keep walking for another 2mintues atleast)

or they will just get that mad they will drive a sting threw the suit, ask any beekeeper thats worked something like bloodwood that turns bees psychotic they will keep trying to get you and wont stop till they do.

The best thing to do is not to worry about getting stung, trust they smell fear and if they know your worrying about getting stung they will sting you just for the fun of it, the good thing is you do get used to it cop enough of them and you just start treating them like mossie bites you just give the sting a scratch to get it out and just keep on working.

 

[pdilley]

Hey guys, I can not speak for your local inspectors attitude but the law does not mandate langstroths, just hives that can be inspected, the only thing inspectors are out to do is monitor and record distribution patterns of any diseases outbreaks. Most registration of hives are for mailing out notices of disease or pest outbreaks to hopefully get word out there in time for beekeepers to prepare or react appropriately.

The Warre hive design makes little "toaster waffle" sized combs and each one can be removed and inspected and returned. There should not be a lot of bridge combing to the sides of the box, in some cases none, but bees don't follow rule books so you can end up with some. Its a simple and straightforward procedure to run a bread knife from the two-dollar shop or any bit of metal down the sides to break any bridge comb if it is there.

As far as number of boxes, 6 boxes is a good growth number but depends again on the profundity of your queen/colony and you may end up with 3 boxes, or 6 or so. Each hive will not be the same as colonies differ so you may get by making a few roof and quilt boxes with the spare bits of wood and make a few less Warre boxes for the hive. You may even want to redraw the design to get you making 4 quilts, floors, and roof bits out of a single sheet of Ply. Then any left overs for boxes. That way you could start with the bare minimum (2 boxes, 1 quilt, 1 bottom, 1 roof) and then as time permits go back and get another sheet of ply and dedicate it to making nothing but boxes from.

If thats a plan for you then I would say do what I did and make a whole mess load of Warre top bars as they are the fiddly bit and have them all ready to go. Making boxes from butt joints with a nail or two is easy and quick in comparison to making the bars. I lost count but guess I made close to 190 bars, about 3 ended up being rejects as in my mass production dazed zone my mind measured a few shorter than they should have been.

My full suit with complete veil does me well. The gloves and suit have had maybe 3 stingers in them from working two colonies over a month in completely less than desirable conditions and I have yet to get one myself. Its a good suit to start with until you are used to the occasional sting and don't bother with them, as said before at that time it will be like mossie bites, annoying but part of the territory.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[altone]

There is no such thing as a fullproof bee suit;

They will either wait till your geting out of it and then get even with you, (when you think you have walked far enough away to take a leak, keep walking for another 2mintues atleast)

or they will just get that mad they will drive a sting threw the suit, ask any beekeeper thats worked something like bloodwood that turns bees psychotic they will keep trying to get you and wont stop till they do.

The best thing to do is not to worry about getting stung, trust they smell fear and if they know your worrying about getting stung they will sting you just for the fun of it, the good thing is you do get used to it cop enough of them and you just start treating them like mossie bites you just give the sting a scratch to get it out and just keep on working.

Firstly , let me say I currently only have 1 active hive - so experience is minimal.

I moved a swarm from my compost bin to the tbh and have opened and inspected the hive twice.
My only bit of realbeekeepers gear is a veil - I use gardening gloves and white clothing plus the veil - so far no bee stings.
BUT a lot of bloody mossie bites - I think there are more around now because everyones saving water in drums due to the water restrictions.
I cover my drums with mossie mesh to stop them breeding but I guess the neighbors don't.

So long as you're not allergic, the bee stings aren't that bad, and as others say - you'll get used to it.
A bee can only sting you once anyway (unless you decide to play with the queen of course)

I don't even bother with the veil etc. when I'm having a quick look at the hive now. I just open up have a look, add a bar if needed and close her up again before the bees get too aggro - no smoker, just a sugar spray to stop them buzzing round quite so much.
(Yes I know I'm probably checking too often but it's my first year - gotta learn somehow)

Perhaps I've got particularly placid bees - although they didn't seem that way whe I tried to move a collapsed brood comb.

I was sh*t scared when first handling them, but the calmer you are, the better they'll be - don't stress about the ultimate beeproof suit - just take reasonable precautions and you'll probably reduce them once you feel more comfortable with the bees.

My 2c for what it's worth

 

[altone]

My Warre plans have been put on hold.

Found out I can only have 2 hives on my current block and have already built 2 Kenyan TBH's.
I'll make the Warre during the Xmas break and either swap out one of the existing hives next year or talk a
neighbor into hosting it for me.
They're still getting used to hives in close proximity, so I'll need to give them time and bribe them with a little
fresh comb honey before I ask about putting a hive in an unused area of their gardens.

Also, once I finally get my Rego info from the DPI I might ask the local golf club if I could place a hive or 2
in their grounds, if nobody is already doing it.

 

[pdilley]

Good to know your local regulations. Now, as you say, time to start finding eager recipients of hives of yours. Should be easy if you have gardeners who want healthy gardens and/or very productive fruit trees. You can organise it so they get freebees and then at harvest you give them a few jars or natural combs of honey.

My Warre is done. Well I got two boxes. The drill holes in the bars just oversized to finishing nails was a perfect idea. However with thin shelf to work with it is best to take your drill and drill at an angle into the centre of the plywood sheet and not perfectly straight up and down. If you go up and down you will be so close to the inside edge of the ply you will almost always split the inner ply of wood off. Go to the centre and all will work out perfectly.

I just completed the two Warre boxes worth of bars (16 in all) and will take those two boxes, the quilt, the roof and the landing board into the Beekeepers Association meeting tomorrow night for another top bar presentation. Would have done them all but have been putting in the yards at work and just lacking energy to work in the shed at nigh.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[anegula09]

I know, I know. And while Im in acomplaining mood, how are you meant to know how big your avatnar is? mine wont work

 

[pdilley]

Get properties on the file after shrinking it in a graphics program and resaving it.

I'm out buying land, solicitors, dealing with architects so my hive building is over for this season. I got two Kenyan Top Bar Hives and one Warre hive built and populated with bees. Plenty of kit left to make three more Warres next season.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete