You may want to build your own wooden beehive if you want to harvest your own honey. It can be intimidating at first because bees do sting. Your hard work will pay off once you begin to harvest the honey.
Choose pine wood or exterior grade plywood for the wood boards. You can also use Cyprus or Redwood for the hive body because it offers protection from other insects. These are also rot resistant woods.
Check a woodworking plan for the exact dimensions of the wooden beehive.
The Hive Stand
The hive stand sits at the bottom of the beehive. It provides the base support for the entire structure.
Use a 1 X 4 for making the side rails. Cut a 45 degree angle on the front end of the side rails. Make a 1 1/8 inch cutout at the top of the side rails. Start at the top of the front angle up to the end of the side rails. Use a table saw and jigsaw to make the cutouts.
Join the back and side rails together. Next, make the inclined landing board. Landing boards need to be at an angle because bees fly and land at an angle. This angle will also prevent rain from getting inside the hive.
Cut angled bevels at the top and bottom ends of the landing board. Attach the landing board to the side and back rails to make the frame. Next make the screen bottom board. This board will fit into the cutout made earlier.
Also make a narrow doorway which will serve as the entrance for the bees. Put the doorway over the bottom board.
The Honeycomb Frames
Bees will build honeycombs on thin removable frames. The frames also allow beekeepers to inspect the condition of the hives inside.
Make the side, top and bottom bars of the honeycomb frames using thin strips of wood. Add dado slots for inserting the wax foundation.
The wax foundation is a plate where the bees build their honeycombs. Beekeepers can reuse the honeycomb frames after harvesting. They can put back extracted frames into the hive and add new wax plates.
The Brood
The brood houses the queen bee and the baby bees.
Cut out the board panels and make handholds using a radial arm saw. The handholds make it easier for beekeepers to carry the boxes when they harvest the honey.
Assemble the board panels to make the brood box. Make grooves on top of the board panels. These will serve as ledges for hanging the honeycomb frames.
The brood and hive bodies can contain from 5-10 frames depending on the dimensions of the box. Insert the frames over the ledges. Place a wire mesh excluder over the brood box.
This will keep the queen bee out of the upper chamber which houses the drone/worker bees. The excluder also prevents baby bees from getting into the honey above.
The Hive body/Honey Super
The hive body/honey super is where the drone bees store honey. Follow the same steps for the brood in building the hive bodies. The hive body is also shallower than the brood box. Put the honey super over the brood box once done with the assembly.
The Inner Cover
Next, build the frame for the hive ceiling. Cut a board used for covering the frame and use a jig to cut an oblong shaped hole over the board. The hole is for ventilation and used as an exit point for bees. Attach the board over the frame to finish the inner cover. Put the inner cover over the honey super after assembly.
The Telescoping Hive Roof
The telescoping hiver roof gets its name because its sides sit down over the top of the hive body. The telescoping cover keeps the weather and elements out of the beehive.
First, build the roof frame. Add roof boards inside the frame to give it support. Next attach the metal cladding over the roof board to finish. Put the telescoping hive roof above the inner cover to complete the wooden beehive.
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