Comments on: The Hive Box – Warre Hive Construction Guide

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:08:58 +0000

Thanks Todd, shellac is not usually recommended because it will deteriorate quickly outside. You say that the mahogany came from an old sailboat so it probably has a few coats of marine varnish. Just sanding the inside should work well!

By: Todd N.McDaniel

Todd N.McDaniel — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:48:02 +0000

NIck, great site lots of info. I have some mahogony from an old sailboat,beautiful wood but has a shelac finish. I will sand the inside but do I need to sand the outside also and if so why. If the wood needs to breath isn’t that what the quilt box is for? Doesn’t painting create the same problem.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Hi Aaron, I usually cut and plane down scrap left over from the build. Has anyone else found a better method?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 05 May 2011 20:24:10 +0000

Thanks so much Nick for this great site. I have just finished to Warre hives and will be installing my bees here in the next couple of days when they come in.
How did you make the top bars??

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:38:38 +0000

Hi Giovanni. I don’t think you’ll have a problem with those dimensions.

By: Giovanni Glasscock

Giovanni Glasscock — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:57:02 +0000

NICK, is the 24 mm wideness for the top bars negotiable? I have some bars that measure slightly over at a tad under 26mm. Will using slightly wider top bars have an opposing impact on the bees?

By: Barbara Patrizzi

Barbara Patrizzi — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:19:24 +0000

Thanks Nick. REALLY great site here. I can’t tell you how much I have used the information provided. Not any other Top Bar fans that I know of in my area here in urban Philly.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:03:02 +0000

Hi Barbara, yes, the bars run the same way in all the hive bodies. I honestly don’t see the benefit of running them back and forth like you mentioned. Seems to me it would be more confusing for the bees. If you look at hives in a natural environment then you’ll see all the comb running in the same direction.

By: Barbara Patrizzi

Barbara Patrizzi — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:37:35 +0000

DO the bars run in the same direction in all the hive bodies, or do they
alternate running perpendicular to the one above and below in each stacked hive body? I saw on a YouTube that one gentleman was hanging the bars in alternate directions in each successive hive body. Is there a reason for this?