# Ordered our bees!



## Elsa (Dec 31, 2007)

Whooo-hooo! Now it feels real! 

I ordered two packages of Carniolans last Saturday at Ruhl Bee Supply... then hit Home Depot for some of the lumber & stuff for building our first two TBHs. 

We're so excited! 

I'm building the hives out of cedar (partly because I already have a bunch of 3/4"X6" cedar boards) - What would you recommend for coating for that? Don't say "paint" ... painting cedar is a mortal sin! Ha-Ha. I want to use something that's as natural as possible, of course. 

This is just too cool!!! Yeahhh!!!!!

~Elsa

P.S. Can you tell I'm just a tiny bit excited??


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

Nothing like opening up a brand new moneypit! 

Stain?

Why paint at all, Cedar will go for years without paint if you're looking for that look!


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

money pit yes, but ahh, the fun of installing a package
they're quite gentle when they have no home to defend
enjoy, and let us know what you're building, everyone likes alternative designs
with cedar you can leave it natural or oil it with something like linseed oil
check this for something more durable

http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/inspection/Dsc00737.jpg

it's the stuff they paint log cabins with

Dave


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Congrats Elsa.......... There is nothing quite like it. The 
dividends from keeping bees are many and remarkable.
Have fun!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>What would you recommend for coating for that? Don't say "paint" ... painting cedar is a mortal sin!

Nothing works nicely:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#stoppainting

Beeswax and gum rosin are nice:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdipping.htm


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## kirk-o (Feb 2, 2007)

I'm a Painter as well as a beekeeper.My experience is Redwood and Cedar don't like paint it Naturally repells everything bugs included.As soon as you paint it it starts to fail and will fail it should be left asis
kirkobeeo


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## Elsa (Dec 31, 2007)

*No coat it is!*

Cool... Thanks guys! "Nekked" cedar it is.  

Gotta get going on building. Ooh... 'nuther question... On the bars themselves - I want to go with the multiple widths for brood and honey. But, how many of each? My hive on paper is 48" overall. Do you recommend a third "transitional" width between the two? 

Oops... I lied... another question... I haven't purchased any lumber for the bars yet. Cedar is rather soft and I've read (just about everything I can find... Love your site, Michael!) that hardwood should be used for the bars. At Home Depot they had only oak and poplar (and hemlock, but I didn't think that was a hardwood. 'Course, I don't think of Alder as a hardwood, either). There are some great lumber yards in the PNW so I'm sure my choice would widen greatly if I take the time to travel (oooh... purple heart bars... NOT!), but what would you guys recommend? 

Thanks again! This is going to be so much fun!!

As far as "money pits" go, this can't possibly beat my dairy goats. I want to go "legal" in the near future and put in a very, very small Grade "A" Creamery. Now, that's a chunk of change! I spoke to the Oregon D of Ag guy last week and he was explaining how it will take "forever" to turn a profit. I told him he was in luck, because I'm probably the only person he'll talk to where making a profit is not my goal. In fact, not making a profit is better... I'm going through the Disability System for the VA and "unemployable" doesn't keep me from having a hobby dairy. I just want to be able to legally sell milk and cheese.

So, bees... unless I go "traditional" with some Langs and get into an extractor and stuff... I think will end up being my "modest" hobby. 

I think the bees will also be one of my most relaxing hobbies as well!

~ Elsa


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## stangardener (Mar 8, 2005)

if you have to buy wood at home depot i think using hard wood is a quick start to the money pit  i rip any scrap 2x. if i had to buy i would buy $2.00 framing 2x4's. 
i use 1 3/8" bars and always have 3/8" spacers around.


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

*New*

Good luck. I did the dairy goat thing for awhile, only 3 though. I dont miss hauling that hot water, or paying for sweet feed either. Glad those days are over.


Good luck


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## buckbee (Dec 2, 2004)

Elsa said:


> Cool... Thanks guys! "Nekked" cedar it is.
> 
> Gotta get going on building. Ooh... 'nuther question... On the bars themselves - I want to go with the multiple widths for brood and honey. But, how many of each? My hive on paper is 48" overall. Do you recommend a third "transitional" width between the two?
> 
> ~ Elsa


You might want to take a look at this thread for a recent discussion on top bar widths:

http://www.biobees.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=268


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## TheCheatOSX (Sep 25, 2007)

*Ordered mine as well*

I just ordered mine as well! Two nucs. Guess I need to get the hives built!


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## Elsa (Dec 31, 2007)

Are these your first? I'm so excited! So far I've only managed to get as far in my building project in staging most of the stuff I need. I was all gung-ho yesterday, but I thought I'd better make sure my measurements were correct before I started a cut. Sure enough, they were off. Whew! Good thing I know myself! :-D


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## Tim Hall (Sep 14, 2007)

I just finished my first hive this weekend...roped my dad into helping since he has a well-equipped shop. 

I'm surprised how smoothly the construction went, and am very pleased with the results. Good planning and accurate measurements pay off. 

This coming weekend we'll be building nucs with the same Kenyan-type cross-section.


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## TheCheatOSX (Sep 25, 2007)

Elsa said:


> Are these your first?


Yep, first hive of any type. I _think_ I made the right choice going with Top Bar. I attended my first local bee club meeting over the weekend and I got some strange looks when I told them what I was building 

My TBHs will be double wide langs with legs, screened bottoms, and a nice little pitched roof. Screenshot 

-Chris


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

Chris

ya spelled your link wrong
you'll be happy with that
being interchangeable with a lang is a good thing
screened bottom or solid?

Dave


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## Elsa (Dec 31, 2007)

Tim - A good shop?! You lucky dog, you!! I wanted to buy one of those Ryobi "cheapie" table saws ($99) and miter saw ($99), but, unfortunately, with hobbies that eat (the goats) I spend more on feed than anything else, and my retirement pay doesn't stretch that far. So my one "cool" purchase for the hives were two nice bar clamps. That is so sad!! :-D 

I think my measurements will work now... I did away with anything that came out to "7/32" since there's no way I'll be that accurate with a circular saw. I'm trying to decide if I should rip a 6" board down or just cave and go buy some 3"ers. Gotta' go past Home Depot on the way back from the VA tomorrow (who schedules a blood draw on Valentine's Day???) I may very well just pick up a 3"er. 

Let me know how your Nuc comes out! I'd like to build a few of those too. When my VA Claim is settled I'll get a good chunk of back pay... I may just have to add wood shop toys to my ever increasing list of stuff I just HAVE to have! :-D

Chris - Yeah... I felt like an outcast in Bee Class too. But it was more like "I know something you don't know!" kind of feeling. I think starting with Langs would have been the wrong choice because I'd be in agony working them... which would lead to avoidance... which would lead to illness or bees going bye-bye. 

I liked the drawing of your new hive. I have a question... What would be the difference(s) between a TTBH and a Long Lang?

~Elsa


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## TheCheatOSX (Sep 25, 2007)

Elsa said:


> I liked the drawing of your new hive. I have a question... What would be the difference(s) between a TTBH and a Long Lang?
> 
> ~Elsa


I'm guessing just dimensions. You can make a TTBH any size you want. A Long Lang has to be sized to fit standard frames. And mine are sized to will fit two lang boxes side by side on top if I choose to use supers. This will be very unlikely but it's nice to have options.

The SketchUp file for my hive is now in the SketchUp "3D Warehouse" if anyone wants to download it. Just search for Beehive.

-Chris


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## Elsa (Dec 31, 2007)

SketchUp is awesome... but I haven't figured out how to use it for designing yet. It's kicking my bee-hind!!

Thanks for the info on the differences. I saw your post about putting a standard Nuc into it and it made more sense to me.  That might be another option for me later on. Gonna' have to design a special "Hive Lift" on my tractor, though. Ha-Ha.

~Elsa


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