# Made 100 migratory tops - photos



## Charlie B

Ben,

These look really good. Do they ever warp?


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## westernbeekeeper

Charlie,
Thank you! They have performed outstandingly well for me. Very little warp-age.


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## Charlie B

Why are there slats on the top? Is that for stacking pallets on top?


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## westernbeekeeper

Those interlock with the stringers on the bottom of the pallets.


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## Honey Hive Farms

Good job on the tops, they look nice. Thanks for sharing the pics.


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## RAK

3/4 or 7/8 lumber?


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## westernbeekeeper

Thanks! Made from 3/4" ponderosa.


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## KevinR

Looking good... Now let see the blow by blow for the 100 hive bodies and bottom board/pallets to go with them. 

*Grins*



westernbeekeeper said:


> Thanks! Made from 3/4" ponderosa.


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## westernbeekeeper

KevinR said:


> Looking good... Now let see the blow by blow for the 100 hive bodies and bottom board/pallets to go with them.
> 
> *Grins*


Yeah yeah yeah...sometime! This thread was awhile ago: http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...50-migratory-bottom-boards-here-s-some-photos


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## J.ATKINS

I was going to make some to try out from free 3/4 plywood I acquired. Does plywood warp if it's painted good and has the 1X boards running crossways on top? 
Benjamin, I noticed you use overlapping pieces front and back. Do these work better than just a flat one like Keith Jarret uses. His look easier to build but I'm not sure which way I want to go. Thanks


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## westernbeekeeper

Ya have a picture? I don't remember what his look like.


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## sqkcrk

Nice. Screwed and glued? Ponderosa pine?


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## KevinR

How much did you overlap the main cover boards? Did you just do two ~9 inch boards?


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## Father & Sons Apiary

I make my migratory lids out of cedar. I will post a picture of them. They come about $4.00 a lid they dry fast and last long. Paint them with oil-based glossy acrylic paint and they,ll last you years.


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## Mr.Beeman

Nice looking tops Ben. I went through Cheyenne last time I was out west to Douglas. Beautiful place.... Wyoming. Driveways are like MILES long, mountains are majestic, people are awesome......need to get back out there next year.


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## westernbeekeeper

sqkcrk said:


> Nice. Screwed and glued? Ponderosa pine?


Thanks! Yes, screwed and glued. Ponderosa.



KevinR said:


> How much did you overlap the main cover boards? Did you just do two ~9 inch boards?


I overlap about 1/4". I use one 11 1/4" board and one 5 1/4" board, then routered out the 1/4" overlap. There is a bead of Titebond 2 running the length of the seam.



Father & Sons Apiary said:


> I make my migratory lids out of cedar. I will post a picture of them. They come about $4.00 a lid they dry fast and last long. Paint them with oil-based glossy acrylic paint and they,ll last you years.


That will definitely do the job! I make mine for about $4.15 each.



Mr.Beeman said:


> Nice looking tops Ben. I went through Cheyenne last time I was out west to Douglas. Beautiful place.... Wyoming. Driveways are like MILES long, mountains are majestic, people are awesome......need to get back out there next year.


Let me know next time; and stop in!


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## Charlie B

Ben,

While I agree that Cheyenne is nice, I think your talent and ability in making bee equipment is needed here in Bee Country. You could work for Ollie but I wouldn't recommend it.


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## westernbeekeeper

Thanks, Charlie. Might consider that! Maybe after I'm married in the next year or so.   :shhhh:


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## sqkcrk

westernbeekeeper said:


> That will definitely do the job! I make mine for about $4.15 each.


But what would u sell them for? $6.00?


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## Barry

He won't, remember, "THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT!"


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## sqkcrk

Right u r Barry. Maybe I should have written. I ordered a bunch of covers similar to westerns' but w/ a 1/2" shim, from an Amish Bee Equipment builder and they cost me $6.00 unpainted. The builder is Amish, not the equipment. Before anyone asks.


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## westernbeekeeper

More than that!  Sent ya a pm.


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## westernbeekeeper

KevinR said:


> Looking good... Now let see the blow by blow for the 100 hive bodies and bottom board/pallets to go with them.
> 
> *Grins*


Heres the pallet thread  - http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?291109-Just-made-some-4-way-pallets-pics


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## J.ATKINS

westernbeekeeper said:


> Ya have a picture? I don't remember what his look like.


Here is a nutra bee video. His tops are all flat with no pieces that drop down in front or back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYbLbhZXizY
What do people do about ventilation in the winter with migratory tops? I was thinking about routing out notches in the lids for upper entrances and ventilation. Is there a reason why I've never seen that?


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## mgolden

Look good.

IMHO, it would be better to not have the cleat seam on the top. Top lets water into the seam and will cause earlier rotting.

Make top cleat ?7/8 wider and underside cleat ?7/8 shorter.


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## sqkcrk

J.ATKINS said:


> Here is a nutra bee video. His tops are all flat with no pieces that drop down in front or back.


The covers in that video looked just like westerns. Look again.


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## Daniel Y

Mark, What is a Western and how it it that it does not fit the description of nothing but a piece of ply with a couple of cleats? Which is also what I see in the video.


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## sqkcrk

I'm sorry, western as in westernbeekeeper. The guy who started this Thread and made 100 migratory covers. That's what I meant.

On closer examination they are not just like westernbeekeepers' covers, but they are not plywood w/ cleats on the top.


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## Daniel Y

Then I am not seeing what you are seeing. So it is is not plywood with a couple of 1x's stuck on tip. what is it?

It is a pretty crappy video that he never seems to figure out anything to actually film. by the time he can get the camera pointed in one direction he seems to have found three more he wants to try and get it pointed at. but pause it at exactly 2:22 and tell me what you see. I see a piece of plywood with a coupe of 1X stuck to the top of it. Again at 2:37 you can see the edges of two tops both clearly plywood . with no question the one his hand is reaching for is plywood.

And I see nothing else on any of those covers but a couple of 1X pieces attached to the top. Not even a brick to keep them in place.


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## Barry

sqkcrk said:


> On closer examination they are not just like westernbeekeepers' covers, but they are not plywood w/ cleats on the top.


That's what they look like to me, Mark. I bet if we dropped NB into the dialog, Keith would pipe up and set the record straight!


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## KevinR

I'll bite.... 

Mega bee is better then NUTRA-BEE because I can order it... *laughs*

Also, while your here Keith... Can you tell us how you make your migratory tops...


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## J.ATKINS

Western, What are the dimensions of your cleat lumber? I was thinking about 1x3 for the vertical piece and the horizontal piece. I do like the simplicity of keith jarret's lids.


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## sqkcrk

Daniel Y said:


> And I see nothing else on any of those covers but a couple of 1X pieces attached to the top. Not even a brick to keep them in place.


Daniel,
What they look like to me are three or four 1" boards shiplapped or tongue and grooved together w/ the cleats on the top. They may also have a 1/2" rim on the underside. I saw a semi load of hives from CA a few years ago and that's what the covers were like.

That type of cover can also be used as a super pallet. An individual pallet that one can stack supers on and move w/ a handcart.

No brick or strap needed because an 8 penny nail is nailed down thru the cover into the super.


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## Flyer Jim

sqkcrk said:


> but they are not plywood w/ cleats on the top.


I think they are.


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## sqkcrk

They might be.

Spurred on to even closer examination I went to full screen and stopped the video when the camera was close to the hives. They do look like one flat board w/ cleats. Probably some sort of plywood and not w/ a rim like I described earlier. They could well be made out of concrete form board material. That stuff never warps.

So I guess they aren't really like westernbeekeepers' all that much at all.


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