# New Member from Las Vegas / So. Utah



## dizzybee (Aug 17, 2012)

The information on this forum, seems to be very helpful. I am going with top bar, simple design. I was hoping to get the thickness of the top bar, will it make much a diffrence if it is one or two inches ? I have do some reading is there any quick reads for top bar ? Type bees work best with top bar ?


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

Welcome Dizzy, did you see the part of this forum dedicated to top bar hives?


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## dizzybee (Aug 17, 2012)

No but I will , Thank you


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome D! Top bars need to be the width of the comb plus half the bee space. Brood combs are narrower, Honey bars can be up to 1 3/8 inches wide.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

Welcome and best of luck. Width of the bar is important and many make different width bars for the brood area than the honey area. Not a necessity and I prefer not to have to keep 10 of the bars separated from the rest. so they are all brood bars. I don't recall ever seeing anything specific on the thickness of the top bar. mine are 3/4 inch because I made them from 12 material. I woudl think the final style you choose to make will have more say on what size piece of wood you start with than anything else. A 1X2 with a popsicle stick can be made with a 1X2 and sticks. a 3/4 inch thick top bar with at tapered point cut into it will require a larger piece of wood to start with.

Not to discourage you but my experience with the top bar has not been all that great so far. It may be the swarm that I put in it. but it is not perform any anywhere near as well as the langstroth hive I started at the same time. There is information on top bars out their. but just as the forum here dedicated to them. it is not as readily found. I have found it far more work to manage the top bar than the langstroth. simply because it takes a lot more time to find information on them. if it is found at all. So far I have not been able to find anything that looks definitive as to why my bees started off like gangbusters for about two weeks and then stalled and remained this tiny colony the entire rest of the summer. The most I have been able to find is that in general swarms do not tend to thrive. I may simply be seeing that for myself in details. They just will not grow no matter what. more room does not help. less room does not help. feeding does not motivate them to build more comb. they hang out in the hive rather than forage even when they have nothing but empty comb in the hive. Even when every other hive I have is out foraging in record numbers. Maybe it is dirth, maybe it is lazy bees. I can't figure it out. if they survive the winter and perform this way in the spring. they get requeened. I almost wish I had requeened them this last summer when I had a chance to.

Anyway good luck. beekeeping is complex if it is easy. the hard way doesn't have a description.

Someone once said that golf is a nice walk ruined by a little white ball. likewise, beekeeping is a wonderful day outdoors ruined by a bug.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Welcome to Beesource! You may find Michael Bush's pages on TBH useful:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm

If your question about bar thickness was referring to the vertical thickness, many people use 1" nominal lumber (actually 3/4"). But there is no reason that you could not use 2" nominal lumber if you wanted.

If you were asking about the horizontal width of the bars, 1.25" to 1.5" is generally reccomended. I suggest reviewing the FAQ about this issue at the M Bush link above before you make a final decision.


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## dizzybee (Aug 17, 2012)

Thank you all lots of great information, Iam not a carpenter I just went to HDepot and 1x1 Hope this will work.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

dizzybee said:


> Thank you all lots of great information, Iam not a carpenter I just went to HDepot and 1x1 Hope this will work.


If you mean that the actual width of the bars (horizontal direction when in the hive) is 3/4 inch (1" nominal lumber), that is not the best plan. You are likely to get serious cross-comb in your hive, and your hive will be very difficult to manage.

If you want to buy pre-cut wood, you would be _much _better off with 1"x2" lumber (use the 1.5" width as the horizontal surface in the TB hive.)


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## dizzybee (Aug 17, 2012)

well completed the wax and string on them and found my bee, March will be getting the girls


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## Lazer128 (Dec 15, 2012)

Welcome. I'd love to see pics of your top bar project. I am considering it myself.


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