Right, so that may be VERY cliche sounding, but it's appropriate.
My bee-supplies got delivered in January (2015). However, I did not put the hive-body, two supers, and nuc hive together until February. In the weeks between arrival and assembly, I noted that indeed, as the manufacturer's had warned, a little warping had set in. Lesson #1 then: Always assemble your hives promptly.
By the time I got to the second super (the last of the "boxes"), I had finally got into the swing of things. Needless to say, it looks the best and probably is the tightest constructed as well.
My bee-supplies got delivered in January (2015). However, I did not put the hive-body, two supers, and nuc hive together until February. In the weeks between arrival and assembly, I noted that indeed, as the manufacturer's had warned, a little warping had set in. Lesson #1 then: Always assemble your hives promptly.
By the time I got to the second super (the last of the "boxes"), I had finally got into the swing of things. Needless to say, it looks the best and probably is the tightest constructed as well.
They still need nails and a paint job, but hopefully the gluing will help with the warping issues.
The nuc, on the other, having arrived with it's own nails, is all set, minus a paint job.
The nuc, on the other, having arrived with it's own nails, is all set, minus a paint job.
Anyway, for you folks who like "in-progess" pictures, here are a couple of the clamped hive body and a frame.
The frames, by the way, are supposed to have staples put in them for extra support. I decided, for whatever insane reason, to go foundation-less. So what you see is what you get. The main guy I have been reading on the bee-subject says foundation-less is most natural...but you also have to give them something to build off of. Basically, it sounds to me like you just put little shims or the like along the top or bottom bar. Depending on if you want the bees to work up or down the hive. (Down, I believe, is most natural, though I reckon most domestic bees may actually go up?)
Hive body with the supers stacked on top...
A frame within the hive body. This is (obviously) where the bees will build their comb. Being that this is the hive body, and I plan to use a queen excluder to relegate the queen to the hive body alone, this should eventually be primarily brood comb.
Now I eagerly await to see if I can get bees from the local guy. I'm on "the list"...which means that if they have enough (in a first come, first serve mode of operation), that I will be able to purchase a nuc of bees from them. If I can't, I do know of a place in Ohio that I might order from.
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