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In addition to the botany, insect behavior, meteorology, and marketing that beekeepers must understand, they must also be be woodworkers. Competitively priced beekeeping equipment is readily available everywhere within the United States and, for the most part, is interchangeable. However, before the days of the big manufacturers, beekeepers built their equipment or they had someone build it for them. Though it can rarely be built more cheaply than it can be purchased, never-the-less, it can be a very pleasant part of beekeeping if one has basic woodworking skills and basic tools. For some time, special bee lave table saws were sold. Now they are more difficult to find, but used ones can still be purchased occasionally. Fingerjoints are currently the most common, and according to some, the strongestjoint available. They will require ajig, usually home made, to neatly and precisely cut the slots to line up with the "fingers". Avoiding all this would be simply to use butt joints - two boards are butted together and simply nailed. TIM joint is fast but weak. If a colony is not going to be moved, it will probably work okay. The dado joint, used by some manufacturers is becoming more popular, and is strong enough to withstand the rigors of beekeeping. Two things to keep in mind if you decide to build your own equipment: (1) In all instances, respect "Bee Space" requirements and (2)strongly consider building your equipment to fit standard equipment. The good thing is that the bees are not terribly demanding about how the hive should look or be painted. Keeping bees in hives that you build can give agreat sense of satisfaction. Several states have extension publications that give dimensions for constructing hives. Contact your state specialist for more information. These are also available on several Internet beekeeping sites. |
