[PDF]Beekeeping: How to build a Top Bar Hive

HOW TO BUILD A TOP



BAR HIVE



by P J Chandler




Supplement to The Barefoot Beekeeper

available from WWW.biobeeS.CQm



1



Copyright notice



This ebook may be freely distributed on condition that no alterations are made to it and no charge is made for it. It may
be included with other material, or copied and distributed on its own. It may be adapted for proprietory hardware or
converted to other formats, provided no alterations are made to the text or images.

Author's note

The instructions contained herein are offered in good faith, on the understanding that anyone undertaking this or any
other similar construction project is entirely responsible for ensuring that they follow appropriate safety procedures when
handling sharp blades and especially powered tools, and that the author or publisher is in no way responsible for any
damage, however caused, that may result from any person following or attempting to follow these instructions.
In other words - use common sense, make sure you are capable of using any tools you choose to use, and don't blame
me if you hit your thumb with a nail or amputate a finger or two on a circular saw.

Dimensions

The author still thinks in feet and inches, despite all attempts to modernize him, so that is mostly what you will find used
here. As a concession to people who insist on using metric measurements (a wholly artificial system, based on an
erroneous calculation of the circumference of the Earth), if you convert using 1 inch = 25mm or 1 foot = 30cm you will
be close enough. Anyone pedantic enough to convert using several decimal places will get the result they deserve.



2



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.

Details of how to set up and manage the hive are to be found in The Barefoot Beekeeper, available from
the author's web site at www.biobees.com

MATERIALS

Traditionally, beehives are made from Western Red Cedar, which weathers pretty well without treatment.
However, it is not easy to find and it is often quite expensive when you do, so Douglas Fir or any straight-
grained, well-seasoned pine will do the job. It can be weather-proofed with a 20:1 mix of linseed oil +
beeswax 1

You will need a quantity of timber, about 1" thick and 12" wide (25mm x 300mm). 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. If
you cannot get 1" wood, 3/4" will do, but thicker wood gives better insulation and lasts longer..

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 (if you use one: I have illustrated a mesh floor) 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

1 1 oz of beeswax to 20 fl oz raw linseed oil, or 20ml per litre, melted together and well stirred. Apply while still warm.



3



bars, 30 feet of 1 1/4" x 3/4" straight timber (bars can be 32-35mm x 21-25mm). It is no bad thing if the bars
are planed on the top and sides, but left rough on the face that the bees will build on.

For a 48" hive (recommended for more productive areas and vigorous bees), you obviously need an extra
foot on each side and the floor, plus enough for another 8 or so top bars. If you plan on using plywood for the
roof, which usually comes in 4' widths (even after metrication), it makes sense to make your sides 44" long,
so when you add the ends you will still have a 1" overhang each end to help keep rain out of the exposed
end-grain of the leg tops.

Of course, you can build a hive any length you choose, but these dimensions work well - certainly in
temperate zones - and are convenient for both beekeepers and bees.

For the hive body, you will also need a dozen 2 1/2" (60mm) brass or stainless steel wood screws, eight 2"
(50mm) stainless or galvanized bolts with nuts and washers and for a mesh floor (recommended in all but the
coldest climates) a length (or several pieces) of plastic, galvanized or stainless mesh with about 8-10 holes to
the inch and a handful of flat-headed pins to fix it with.

What size hive to build?

If you are a first-time beekeeper and currently have no ambitions to keep more than one or two hives, I
suggest you start with a 36" long box. If you have some experience with conventional hives and want to start
nucs and run four or five or more colonies, or if your area is known to be a good place to keep bees, then go
for the more capacious 48" model.

See the end of this ebook for a detailed materials list.



4



You will need a flat bench somewhat
longer and wider than the hive you are
building, along with some basic tools:
carpenter's saw; plane; screwdriver;
drill; square; cramps. A hand-held or
bench-mounted circular saw and a
power drill are handy if you have them,
but not essential.

Use a strong, waterproof, external
grade glue for all permanent joints. You
don't need to go as far as epoxy resin
glues, but if in doubt, ask in your local
hardware shop for advice.

Both long and short hives are built in
exactly the same way - inside out and
upside down - starting with the follower
boards.

The reason for this will become clear
and hinges on the relative ease of
making the sides fit the followers and
the near impossibility - for the amateur
woodworker - of making the followers
fit retrospectively to the sides.




You don't need a fully-equipped workshop: a flat surface and basic tools are the
essentials. You can build the hive using only hand tools - and a circular saw is a
bonus, whether hand-held or table mounted.



5



I would suggest that you spend some time studying the sequence of
photographs and get a feel for how the hive looks and how it works. Please send
me a message from my web site if you feel that I have missed anything or you
have suggestions for improvements.



Some alternative

top bar comb guides



MAKING THE TOP BARS



The one critical dimension in this whole design is the width of the top bar, which
is, according to people who have been doing this longer than I have, 1 1/4" to 1
3/8" or 32-35mm for most bees. If local knowledge or your own experience say
otherwise, then follow that. Otherwise, I suggest you start with these
dimensions, watch how the bees build their comb and make your next set of
bars accordingly, bearing in mind that bees building natural comb tend to make
slightly smaller cells on average than foundation-raised bees.

You will get more even and predictable results if you provide the bees with a
straight comb-building guide of some kind. There are a number of ways to do
this, perhaps the simplest being a saw kerf down the centre of the bottom face
of the bar, made with a circular saw. This does not have to extend to the ends,
but it may be easier to cut longer lengths like this. The groove should be about
1/8" deep and the width of your saw blade. Fill (or slightly over-fill) it with
molten beeswax and allow to cool.



6



If you do not have access to a circular saw, you can pin thin strips of wood, about 9" long, centrally onto the
bars, as in the second diagram. Rubbing the bottom edge with beeswax is generally thought to be a good
idea.

For this particular design, the top bars are 17" long, which seems to be a convenient length for both bees
and beekeeper. Make them about 3/4" thick.

(By the way - I have nothing against metric units - other than the fact that they are based on a mistake - but
I tend to think in feet and inches, so that is what I am comfortable with, and that's what I still specify when
ordering timber. Luckily, my local timber yard still understands imperial units.)

A note for readers in the USA: I understand that it is traditional among timber merchants over there to
supply timber planed from the size you specify, so if you order 12 inch boards they will actually measure
closer to 11 1/2" or even 11 " when you get them. You may need to make some allowance for this. However,
it doesn't matter to the bees if their hive is slightly smaller than shown here. Don't show them the plans,
though, just in case.



7



ASSEMBLY



The first step is to assemble your
materials and cut and glue the boards
to their final sizes. Make up the sides
(if you are using two boards edge-to-
edge) and ends as shown and while
the glue is setting, make the all-
important follower boards.

Glue and screw or pin a standard 17" top
bar to the top edge of each follower
board. Placing thin strips of wood
underneath ensures that it is laterally
centred. Clamp it up and leave to set.
The extra bits of scrap wood prevent the
boards 'springing' while clamped.




This 11" board, here made up from
three pieces, will become the
follower boards. 1/2" timber is
adequate for this job: mark 15"
across the top edge and halfway at 7
1/2". You can cut followers from 12"
wide boards if available.

The follower boards are integral
to this design, and give you
much greater flexibility in
managing your bees than just a
plain box with an end entrance.
See The Barefoot Beekeeper for
full details - available from
www.biobees.com



/ •




Mark 2.5 inches either side of centre on the bottom edge



10




f£9 £41 ^■■■•liaf-.Y.aalM^! 1 ^
Extend the geometry to make an identical shape upside down, saving time and timber.



12



Glue, pin (or screw) a top bar centred on the top edge of each follower board. Cramp
and leave to set overnight. The odd-shaped pieces are there to stabilize the boards
while the glue sets.



13



A GEOMETRICAL FOOTNOTE



(only for the mathematically inclined)

You may have noticed that the trapezoidal shape of the follower boards comprises a rectangle, 5"
wide by 11" tall, with a point-down, right-angled triangle on each side.

The height of each triangle is 11" and the base (or top) is 5", so from Pythagorus we can calculate
the hypoteneuse (long side) as:

Vh= ll 2 + 5 2 = 121 + 25 = V146 = 12.08

In other words, A tiny bit over 12" (or 300+mm).

This means that, if your measuring and your sawing are accurate, you will need to shave a little
wood off the bottom of the follower board so that it is a snug fit to the inner edge of the sides. Don't
do this until you have the sides in place and you can see just how good your drawing and sawing
really are!



14



LEGS



You will need to let the glue set overnight before you move on to the main assembly, but if you have time
in hand today, you may as well cut and drill the legs.

You need four legs (obviously), each about 3" x 2" (75 x 50mm) and a length to suit your height. For
example, man of average height will need the top of the hive to be around 30-31" for comfortable working, so
the legs will need to be about 32-33" long. If you are a wheelchair user, you may want the top of the hive to
be about 24" from the ground, so make the legs 26". The rule of thumb: decide a working height for the top
of the hive and add 2" to arrive at the length of the legs. They will be trimmed a little to accommodate the
roof - see below.

You do not have to use legs - you could put these hives on various types of stand as used by conventional
hives - but this is a cheap and convenient way of achieving a stable, level, relatively rodent-proof and
probably more-or-less raccoon-proof hive at the right working height.

The legs will be bolted to the end pieces, using galvanized or stainless steel nuts and 2" bolts. I advise you
to put washers under the head of the bolts and the nuts to prevent them cutting into the wood. Do not be
tempted to use wood screws to attach the legs: disaster will inevitably follow and you will regret not spending
the extra few pennies.

The lower ends of the legs can be left cut square for maximum stability on a grassed site, or cut level if you
intend to keep your hives on hard standing.



15




Begin the main assembly by inverting the follower boards and squaring
them up on your bench about 18"-24" apart. They should be parallel.



16




Position one of the side panels against the follower boards, resting on the

top bars.

17




Place the other side in position and square up the structure, ready for the ends.



18



Position one of the end pieces centrally against one end. Its bottom edge rests
on the bench, giving clearance for top bars. (The plane is not necessary - 1 used
it as a prop as I was photographing single-handed)



19



Remove the end and mark three points each side for drilling clearance holes
for screws. Actual positions are not as important as making them on the
centre line and away from the ends.



21



Use a drill bit slightly bigger than the shank of the screw, which should be
brass or stainless steel and at least 2 1/2" long. Drill both ends together,
using the marked end as a pattern. (The nails are dropped into two drilled
holes to ensure alignment.)

22




While you are drilling, you may as well make bolt holes in the legs and end pieces. Mark a
point 5" in from the top corner of one of the ends and draw a line to the bottom corner, as
shown. The outer edge of the leg will lie on this line. Drill the top hole at least 3" from the
top edge, as the tops of the legs will soon be trimmed to accommodate the lid (see below).
Ensure that the lower hole falls comfortably outside the line of the side wall.



23




The roof frame will rest on the tops of the legs, so they need to be trimmed parallel to the top
edge. Lining up the holes you already drilled, mark a straight line across the width of one end,
2" from the top edge. Don't fit legs yet.



24




Plastic, galvanized or stainless steel mesh may be used to cover the base of the hive. This is
heavy duty plastic garden mesh, which has the advantage of forming a flexible, convex curve
inside the hive, enabling the follower boards to form a bee-proof and moth-proof seal. It must be
>>>