Episode-144- Build A Top Bar Hive Part 2

Tony's Top Bar Hive design
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.

Kiwi arbor
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.

Tony's top bars
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!

Other Bee Episodes

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

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

2 thoughts on “Episode-144- Build A Top Bar Hive Part 2

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *