HOW TO BUILD A TOP BAR HIVE Beginning （如何构建一个顶级酒吧蜂巢开始）.pdf

HOW TO BUILD A TOP BAR HIVE by P J Chandler Supplement t The Baref t Beekeeper available fr m www.bi bees.c m This eb k als available in DNL and EXE f rmat. INTRODUCTION My woodworking skills are little more than basic and I have written these instructions with fellow amateurs in mind. I doubt if I could follow a proper woodwork plan myself, so this is a combination of written instructions and photographs, which I hope will prove easy to understand. I suggest you scan through the following pages more than once before starting work. MATERIALS Traditionally, beehives are made from Western Red edar, which will weather pretty well without treatment. However, it is not easy to find and it is quite expensive when you do, so Douglas Fir or any straight-grained, well-seasoned pine will do the jo b. It can be weather- 1 proofed with the linseed oil + beeswax mixture already described . You will need a quantity of timber, about 3/4” thick and 12” wide. If you cannot find 12” wide boards locally, you can glue up 6” boards, which is how I have done it in the photographs that follow. For a 36” hive, you will need three lengths of 12” x 36”, with one cut into two 18” x 12” pieces for the ends. The floorboard is 36” x 6” and the legs are the same, cut lengthwise to 3” wide. You will also need a board 11” x at least 25” for the follower boards and for the top bars, 30 feet of 1 3/8” x 3/4” straight timber. For a 48” hive, you obviously need an extra foot on each side and the floor, plus enough 1 See p136 for more detail on this. for another 8 or so top bars. Of course, you can build a hive any length you cho