Episode-144- Build A Top Bar Hive Part 2

Completed Top Bar Hive

I have completed my first top bar hive and this build cost less than $100 and took a week of evenings to complete. Not bad for an amateur woodworker. The Makita Magnesium hypoid circular saw made it easy as it did for the kiwi arbor I built in November.

Arbor built to support kiwi plants. Twelve feet long, 4 feet wide and 6 1/2 feet high.

All that is left to do is to add the bottom screen when it arrives. i could not find any 2.5mm – 3.5mm wire mesh locally but I did find some on Amazon  and will install it and the bottom board once it arrives. All I have to do now is coat the outside of the hive with some boiled linseed oil and coat the underside of the top bars with bees wax.

I went the extra step to add half round strips of  molding to the underside of the top bars to aid the bees in starting new comb. This is what Phil Chandler recommended as well as some other beekeeping advisers.

half round starter bars

Once this hive is completed and placed int he yard I’ll begin work on a Warre hive.

How to manage honey bees by my favorite advisers – they’ll all different!

• Rusty and HoneyBeeSuite.com
• Michael Bush The Practical Beekeeper
• The Barefoot Beekeeper 
• Don the Fat Bee Man – YouTube Channel 
• Organically Manged Beekeeping
• Beekeepers Corner Podcast

Other Bee Episodes

• Build A Top Bar Hive Part 1 
• Episode-128- Honey Bee Hive Observations 
• Episode-124- Honey Bees Gone Wild – No Treatment, Clean Wax, Natural Cell
• Episode 116 – Bee A Beekeeper With Sustainable Beekeeping Practices 
• Episode-100- Ten Best Websites For Making a Better Life – Part 1
• Episode-113- Keep Ants Out Of The Beehive
• Episode-110- Honey Harvest And How To Get Honey From A Bee Hive – Part 2
• Episode-106- Honey Harvest And How To Get Honey From A Bee Hive – Part 1 
• Episode-99- ToDoList: Honey Bee Hive-A Inspection May 12, 2012 
• Episode-88- The Honey Bees In My Back Yard Just Got New Neighbors
• Video of last year’s first honey bee package installation
• Episode-44- Beekeeping For Dummies Book Review
• Episode-52- Keep Honey Bees Healthy In Winter 
• Episode-59- Checkerboard Honey Bee Hive For Swarm Prevention and Growth
• Episode-66- Spring Into Action With Honeybees, Gardening And Cherry Blossoms
• Episode-73- To Bee Or Not Two Bees
• Episode-80- Honey Bee Honey Bee What Is Up With Thee
• Episode-94- Inspect Honey Bee Hive For Queen And  Pests 4-28-12
• Other bees in your area 
• The Barefoot Beekeeper
• View Warre hives (also Warré hives) information and resources including the history, advantages and ideal placement of this minimalistic beehive.

Song of the Day – Maroon 5 –  One More Night – Video