How to Construct a Beehive

Beehive boxes are readily available for purchase from bee keeping suppliers, but if you want to make your own you'll need some wood and basic carpentry experience. In fact, if you're just starting out with carpentry as a hobby, a hive box can be a nice project. Just construct the box and the frames to go inside and you're ready to bring in the bees.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Draw your measurements out onto the sheet of wood to double check the dimensions of your box. A good size for the box is 8-by-12 inches, and about 8 inches high. Measure one 8-by-12 inch piece for the base, two 9-by-12 inch pieces for the sides and two 8-by-8 inch pieces for the ends, as well as 1 larger piece about 10-by-14 inches for the top of the box.

2. Use a table saw to cut out the pieces for your box.

3. Set the 8-by-8 inch ends on top of the base and nail the base to the ends.

4. Set the 9-by-12 inch sides on either side of the base and nail them into the sides of the base and the sides of the end panels. The basic box for your hive is complete.

5. Cut thin, less than 1 inch, strips of wood from your scrap to line the edge of the lid to give it a kind of rim. This way, you can set the lid on top of the box loosely and the lid will not fall off.

6. Construct frames for your box using wire mesh panels of 8-by-10 inches and creating rectangular wooden frames for the mesh. Ideally, you should create two 8-by-10 inch frames and fasten them together with the mesh in between to form a single mesh frame. Construct as many as will fit in the box.

7. Remember that the bees must be able to enter and exit the hive, so cut a thin hole (like a handle) into both ends of the box for the bees to come and go. Keep the lid on the hive unless you are handling the honeycombs.

Tips & Warnings

• Beekeeping is a perfectly safe hobby, but remember to exercise caution when handling the bee hive by wearing bee proof clothing in white to avoid distressing the bees.

[doctillie]

on 10/14/2009 Bee Boxes are supposed to be built to specific dimensions to respect bee space. The dimensions above would not work for bees. I'm curious if the writer is a beekeeper - my guess would be NO