# My Latest



## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

Here's a picture of my latest build. 
We recently removed about 40 of 60 apricot trees from our lot, in order to make space for a shop, which we will build sometime eventually. Apricot can be some really beautiful wood so I have saved a lot of it, mostly to turn on a lathe. But I needed to replace a previous observation hive and put this one together using wood from the orchard. I don't have a mill, so I used my chainsaw to cut the logs into manageable size hunks, then used my tablesaw to re-saw into nice square boards. After doing all the cut-down work, I didn't have anything wide wnough to serve as a base, so I decided to slice another log and go for the rustic look. I am pretty excited about how it turned out. I finished just in time for a "farm-to-school" program, so I haven't had time to put any finish on it, but probably will rum some tung oil into it as soon as I get chance. 
Enjoy!


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Niiiice! Cool story behind the wood. Can't tell if it's a double or single wide. The single will be VERY swarm prone and the double will only be slightly less so. I've got a 5 deep single wide and I'm stealing brood and frame out of there on a regular basis.


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

It's a single wide. I have never been too worried about the swarm factor. We ran a similar unit for a few years. This one is replacing that previous design. Often I install them with cells which buys a little time, or just plan to pull a frame out every few weeks, or rotate the bees out entirely for fresh bees.
There is definetly a balance. Our others are two frames wide by 3 tall. The swarm factor is much reduced and they winter pretty well, but the portability factor is much reduced and the queen spotting factor as well. My favorite observationhives are the bigger ones, but I like to have a couple of smaller units for school visits, fairs, and farmers markets.


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