Bee hives

[bogmer [OP]]

Does anybody here know anything about bee hives. The reason why I am asking is because I just bought 780 board feet in pine boards and I want to learn the most I can the best way I can.

[redlee]

https://www.google.com/search?source...w=1440&bih=788

Not sure what you are asking for, but thousands of plans available online.
My neighbour is a Beekeeper and builds his own,pretty simple from what I can see.

[John Bartley]

Does anybody here know anything about bee hives. The reason why I am asking is because I just bought 780 board feet in pine boards and I want to learn the most I can the best way I can.

I seem to remember a bees supply outfit in Manotick or Kars or ..... somewhere in that area and when my Dad kept bees he referred to it as a real authority. They'd likely sell you a box and frame and you could reverse engineer it?

[bogmer [OP]]

I seem to remember a bees supply outfit in Manotick or Kars or ..... somewhere in that area and when my Dad kept bees he referred to it as a real authority. They'd likely sell you a box and frame and you could reverse engineer it?

I would have to look them up... From what I have heard it's hard to get good quality hives in Ottawa... I will go and see what I can see and they will likely give me everything I need in terms of knowledge. I learned that if you ask the right questions and be respectful people will give you all the information you will ever want. Especially if they are passionate with what they do.

[bogmer [OP]]

https://www.google.com/search?source...w=1440&bih=788

Not sure what you are asking for, but thousands of plans available online.
My neighbour is a Beekeeper and builds his own,pretty simple from what I can see.

I am asking about EVERYTHING about bees. If I am going to build a great hive I need to know what bee keepers want in their hives. Not what is necessarily available.

[gdtrfg]

Hives are pretty simple to build. That said, I can buy a set pre-milled for $15.00, so all I have to do is assemble it. Unless you are going to be building them all the time and be building a lot of them all the time, it is going to be really hard to match that price.
Hive bodies come in three sizes. There are your “deeps” which are about 9 1/2 inches deep, your “mediums” which are about 6” deep, and then your “ shallows”, which are about 5” deep. I can measure them precisely tomorrow, but right now it’s dark and bees don't like to be disturbed at night.The hive boxes I buy have big box joints in the corners, and the ends are rabbetted at the tops for the frames to fit in. There should be handholds in all 4 sides, and my best ones have pre-drilled holes for nails in each tail. Once they are glued, you want to also nail the corners in each direction.

[John Bartley]

I would have to look them up... From what I have heard it's hard to get good quality hives in Ottawa... I will go and see what I can see and they will likely give me everything I need in terms of knowledge. I learned that if you ask the right questions and be respectful people will give you all the information you will ever want. Especially if they are passionate with what they do.

I had a memory flash The company is Benson Bee Supply and they are in Metcalfe.

[bogmer [OP]]

Hives are pretty simple to build. That said, I can buy a set pre-milled for $15.00, so all I have to do is assemble it. Unless you are going to be building them all the time and be building a lot of them all the time, it is going to be really hard to match that price.
Hive bodies come in three sizes. There are your “deeps” which are about 9 1/2 inches deep, your “mediums” which are about 6” deep, and then your “ shallows”, which are about 5” deep. I can measure them precisely tomorrow, but right now it’s dark and bees don't like to be disturbed at night.The hive boxes I buy have big box joints in the corners, and the ends are rabbetted at the tops for the frames to fit in. There should be handholds in all 4 sides, and my best ones have pre-drilled holes for nails in each tail. Once they are glued, you want to also nail the corners in each direction.

This is the lumber I just bought... Two days ago.. We are already talking about getting a tractor load delivered to my shop. And I don't care how some people are charging less than I will. I am looking at making quality not quantity. There's people that will buy a 15$ hive and there's people that will buy the 200$ hive. I am not looking to undercut the 15$ one.

[gdtrfg]

Well, alrighty then, and good luck to you.
I totally agree with you on quality vs quantity. For me, when I need woodenware for my bees, I am not going to spend all day jigging up to build 4 boxes. I’m going online and 4 boxes will be here in 2 days and they’ll be assembled and painted in 3 hours. I need quantity and as long as the boxes keep the elements outside, my bees don’t care about quality.
There are some interesting hive boxes being made in Europe (I think) called Flow Hives. They may be somewhat towards what you are hoping to build.

[Frank D.]

I keep bees too and don’t make my own hives. It’s not worth it. Most beekeepers just want a hive that works. All parts of a hive are made to work together, so there are standard measurements of height, length, depth and thickness. You have the supers which are the big boxes and the frames which hold the honeycomb inside. There are other parts like lids, doors, queen separators, excluders, feeders, etc. There are a few different designs but it’s not as if you’re going to change or improve them because this is one of the worlds oldest industries and everything has pretty much been thought out. If you sell a hive that isn’t Langstroth, Warre, top hive or bar hive or flow hive, it will be hard to sell (you’ll have to know what you’re doing and devote your life to spreading your idea). And even then, 100% of the beekeepers I know (quite a few) use only Langstroth hives, which have specific dimensions. Because of the fixed dimensions, there is little to no difference between manufacturers. Most of the time beekeepers will buy the parts and assemble themselves; otherwise people with less time will buy assembled.

it’s a low-margin operation which is why I buy them instead of making them from scratch (doesn’t cost a lot more than the wood). Most of them are made with cnc’s because it’s boring, low-skill repetitive woodworking. Another thing to think about is distribution. Beekeepers usually buy their supplies from one or two places. If you’re going to be an extra stop for them, then you have to be worth it. It won’t be easy taking a bite out of the market of existing retailers.

[bkrits]

I believe a lot of manufactures now use heat treated wood, is that so in Canada?

[Frank D.]

I believe a lot of manufactures now use heat treated wood, is that so in Canada?

In Quebec it doesn't seem so. The standard is pine, either natural (unfinished), painted, or with paraffin (soaked in liquid paraffin). Don't see why they couldn't use heat treat, I imagine it could become more popular.

For Bogmer:

Here's a catalogue of one of the biggest suppliers in Eastern Canada:

https://www.propolis-etc.ca/Propolis_Catalogue-WEB.pdf

High-tech is not wood, but styrofoam or plastic. Most people still use wood.

[Wood Grower]

I think you need a license or something for manufacturing bee keeping boxes.  You need another license for keeping bees I think.  Look it up it might save you getting into trouble!

[Frank D.]

In Quebec, no licence needed to make hives. To keep bees you’re supposed to register your hives, but there are zero consequences for not doing it unless you’re a professional beekeeper (farmer).

[bogmer [OP]]

I think you need a license or something for manufacturing bee keeping boxes. You need another license for keeping bees I think. Look it up it might save you getting into trouble!

It's a hobby today that many people are getting into.