My name is Devrim, I am Turkish, and I live and work around a farm. I have recently started "collecting" bees that have swarmed on our land, and I've been so successful, I've had to develop a way to make a bee hive "fit for a queen" in a little time.

At the moment I have 12 hives, and lot of honey !

It might not be the best way to make a hive, but its very simple to make and you can build one in only a couple of hours.

Devrim

Step 1: Tools and Supplies

Only very basic wood working tools are needed. A jigsaw, a drill are useful, some drill bits, a chisel - no major wood shop !

Step 2: Beginning

As you can see from the intro picture, the hive is very simple. It consists of a simple wooden box, made of clean pine wood. Inside that we hang the comb frames., and on top of the roof I will form a simple piece of tinplate, or better, galvanised sheet into a durable roof.

Because it houses bees we will use NO preservatives of any kind on the wood, so the metal roof is a vital anti-rot feature. You can use any metal - I had some galvanised sheet, you could use aluminium flashing or possibly even copper.

Step 3: The Roof !

The roof has two stops on it to locate it on the hive, and then covered with metal. Here you can see me clamping the metal to the wood, and beating the edges up. I secure the metal with a couple of nails. The roof extends ~50mm over each edge of the hive, as you can see in the pictures, so that rain drips clear of the walls.

Step 4: Comb Frames

The bees will live and work over the comb frames. The frames are made from wood, about 35 mm x 10 mm and just nailed together. We'll add some metal wire as bracing, and support for the honeycomb foundation. (HCF), the yellow sheets.

The frames are about 300 x 150 mm (12"x 6"), and the TOP piece is roughly 25 mm longer, so that when you set it on, 12mm hangs over each end. The top is ALSO about 20mm wider than the rest of the frame. This lets the comb hang in the box, with no chance of it touching the other combs. Combs need good ventilation.

Step 5: Box

The box is big enough to hold several of the comb frames. I made mine from pine board, forming a box about 300 x 300 x 200 mm (12 x 12 x 8 ")

I use very simple joinery, there is no need for anything complicated, the box is just a simple housing joint.

The only important thing is the rebate for the combframes on two sides, which I made with a chisel, but you could route or saw directly if you want .