# Making Your Own Inner Covers



## roostershooter7 (May 26, 2011)

Does anyone here make their own inner cover? 

I was looking today, and several companies offer a 3/4" pine plywood inner covers that looks easy to make.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Inner covers are protected from the weather and can be any thickness. If you have any kind of saw you can cut inner covers.


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## J.ATKINS (Jun 5, 2011)

I was wondering about making inner covers out of 5/8 or 3/4 plywood. I was thinking there must be a reason that the manufactured ones are pretty complex instead of a solid flat piece. It would be way cheaper to make them out of plywood so I hope it doesn't matter. 

Jordan


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## oblib (Oct 28, 2011)

Not a solid flat piece because it needs to be raised 3/8in above the frames.


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## Nantom670 (Jul 29, 2011)

I just cut luan or whatever I have the width of the super and take 3/4" deep strips X 1" wide down each side and across the ends, glue it and that's it. That way it If it wears out in a few years, just make another one. I also put the cut out in the center for feeding. Set the strips at the edge of your cutout and it will sit up 3/4" above your top super, or turn it over flat and you can feed sugar during the winter. If you want it deeper just use deeper strips around the edges.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

I don't use many inner covers, I have one or two that are still serviceable, and they are in place, but mostly I use covers of my own design, similar to migratory covers, but with a bee space rim and a notch to provide a small entrance when the cover is aligned squarely atop the uppermost super.


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## Paul McCarty (Mar 30, 2011)

I drill a 70mm hole or two in mine for a feeder jar.


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

I don't use inner covers either and just use a piece of plywood as a top cover, but all my hives are top entrance. I am going to glue and fasten a few strips of wood on the short ends of the cover to make them into migratory covers. Now I'm not going to migrate but I recently visisted an apiary with all migratory covers and they are so much easier to lift and move around than a flat piece of plywood. Mine are currently on top of quilt boxes for the winter. They will all get modified in the spring. It is also still viable for me to flip my solid bottom board up on top of the hive in the spring when I go to SBBs so the bottom board can have the hole in it for feeding or you can make a special one but I, personally, have never had any problems running a piece of plywood on top (no inner cover).


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

I do not use migratory or telescoping covers. All my covers are feeder covers, a piece of plywood with a half inch to inch hole in the middle for a mason jar. I put a block of wood over the hole when not feeding. I have a set of black covers when small hive beetles are strong from recent rains, gray when there are a few SHB and white when there is no SHB concern. Sometimes I double stack feeder covers with offset holes when not feeding and it is hot and sunny. The feeder covers have less warping and problems than the migratory covers I used to use. 
http://americasbeekeeper.com/more_splits.jpg 
http://www.americasbeekeeper.com/USF splits.JPG


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

Im going to put a 1" hole in mine also for feeding. I like the block idea instead of a can lid. We get hardly any rain so either would work well for me.


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## beehonest (Nov 3, 2011)

I make my own, I copied the wintering inner cover from Brushy. I use 1x2 for the rim and 3/8 for the center. It is cool because you can use a mason jar in it for the feeder. You can also put a solid lid in the hole fill the deep side with sugar candy,let it harden. Then just flip it over the moistier from the inside the hive softens the candy so they can eat it over winter. Or you can use the deep side up and put a layer of insulation over the winter. lots of options. All I have is a table saw. I am getting a dado blade to make it faster, right now I just make multiple passes to notch out the wood.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I pretty much do the same thing as beehonest, copying an existing cover. I do have a dado so it goes pretty quick. Making woodenware is great during the winter!


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

I have made several from old cupboard doors found at the Re-Use store. The frame is thicker than the center pane and work very well. Many of the doors only have to be trimmed a very little off of one end. The center pane can be cut to have an oval opening. They usually cost me about $1
Good luck!


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Feed Bag Inner Covers (FBIC's) are the ******* version of an inner cover that I use in the summer on my 10 frame hives. Just cut a chicken feed bag to size, and lay it on the top of the frames. I also have these on top of my nuc's at the time of writing. The beauty of the FBIC is that it just peels off the top of the frames, is free (my wife has chickens), and takes up next to no storage space. BTW the FBIC is not my invention; I have seen it here on beesource and also on some youtube videos. My only contribution is the acronym FBIC.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I have all sorts of material used as an inner cover but the FBIC is a new one for me!
I use 3 ply ( a little thicker would be better as the real thin stuff can warp from any moisture)

The reason I use them is simply to stop the bees building foundation into the lid. We never have to feed but it can get warm here and the inner cover is a little added insulation. Lino was very popular in the past.


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## roostershooter7 (May 26, 2011)

Thanks for all of the input. 

Would there be anything wrong with using a 3/4" piece of poplar plywood cut to size, and then gluing a 1" X 1" piece of trim around the upper edge to hold the outer cover above the inner cover?


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## Nantom670 (Jul 29, 2011)

:thumbsup:Sounds good to me.


roostershooter7 said:


> Thanks for all of the input.
> 
> Would there be anything wrong with using a 3/4" piece of poplar plywood cut to size, and then gluing a 1" X 1" piece of trim around the upper edge to hold the outer cover above the inner cover?


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## beehonest (Nov 3, 2011)

Give it a try, that is how we have new products. Some has an idea and tries it. But I will frown on poplar simply because I have tried it. I figured it would be better quality, but the moisture content inside the hive caused it to mold and start to break down. I switched to exterior grade wood and haven't had another problem. All the moistier seems to build in the top of the hive?


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## mgolden (Oct 26, 2011)

I am trying some inner covers with 3/8 rim below so bee space room above the frames and have a 3 inch rim on top. On the 3/8 side make a 1.5 inch notch with a closeable door

Becomes very versatile
-For summer I will screen the center hole and have 8 screened 1 inch holes(2 per side and screen on the inside) to vent the hive for cooling and drying honey.
-For cold weather, can place a two inch piece of styrofoam for top insulation in the 3 inch top rim or plug/tape the vent holes
-Can remove the center screen(and styrofoam) and place a rim around the center hole and fill with fondant, or wetted sugar.


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## oldreliable (Jan 29, 2011)

Paul McCarty said:


> I drill a 70mm hole or two in mine for a feeder jar.


 american standard of measure = ? help me out I live in the good ol USA and I dont speak metric inch:


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## S&H (Feb 25, 2010)

2-3/4 ""


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## roostershooter7 (May 26, 2011)

beehonest said:


> I switched to exterior grade wood and haven't had another problem.


I thought about that, as well, but have come to the conclusion that I will not use exterior grade / treated plywood. There is some nasty stuff in treated plywood, and do not want those toxins around my bees or in the hives. The untreated poplar plywood is glued using a soy based glue and is not made with formaldehyde.


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## roostershooter7 (May 26, 2011)

oldreliable said:


> american standard of measure = ? help me out I live in the good ol USA and I dont speak metric inch:


Here is a site that I have found very useful. It converts everything from weights to currency. 

http://www.sciencemadesimple.net/conversions.html

Due to the good humor of the site they also have a conversion for 'apples to oranges'.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

roostershooter7 said:


> I will not use exterior grade / treated plywood. There is some nasty stuff in treated plywood, and do not want those toxins around my bees or in the hives.


Exterior Plywood is not "treated" The difference is int he type of glue that is used in making it.
This is a link with some basic information on the various grades of plywood and the differences in them.
http://woodworking.about.com/od/plywood/p/PlywoodGrades.htm

There is not anything more toxic about the glue used in exterior grade plywood than that used in interior. There are plenty of woods as well as treatments to wood that you do need to be aware of. Treated lumber. many woods themselves are toxic. But plywood is not one of them. If plywood was toxic I woudl have expected to have seen it recommend that you where a respirator when cutting it for that specific reason. I have never seen any such recommendation. I have frequently seen them in regard to cutting treated lumber. It is true that lung protection is recommended for cutting of any wood due to the risk from saw dust. The warning about toxicity is specific when it exists.


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## beehonest (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks Daniel Y for clearing that up for me. If you look around many manufactures use it on inner covers, you probably just don't recognize it. I get exhausted from all the arguments on this site, especialy the ones that could be avoided with a little research. They do make PT plywood but that is not what I am talking about.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

another way to convert any measure is Google, just type what you know and the unit you want to know


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

I've used old cupboard doors for inner covers. They have an outside frame that can be cut down to size, the center inset piece is thin enough to cut an oval hole in it. The difference between the frame and the inset is my bee space. I have several of these made from smallish cupboard doors purchased at ReBuild for about 50 cents a piece. I've also cut notches out for bee entrances on some of them.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

I'm using 1/2" CDX (I think, I was planning to buy 3/8" CDX and the sheet I selected turned out to be 1/2" when I started cutting it, so it was on the wrong pile) for both telescoping and inner covers. I figure the extra thickness won't hurt, and my brother's bees REALLY glue stuff down. His Kelley covers come apart when being pried off, so I plan to set the plywood into a dado with about 1/8" of rim on one side an at least an inch on the other. That way we have a bit more room over the frames for things like protein patties, and the wide side will work nicely for a candy board or insulation.

The nice thing about making your own stuff is that you can make anything you want! The bees won't care unless you violate bee space, in which case they will build comb or glue it up for you.

I don't recommend inner covers thinner than 3/8" though -- too likely to warp with condensation in the winter. I think the bee will appreciate the extra wood overhead, too, so long as you have ventilation, it's more like their normal homes.

Peter


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