Thread: Exotic timbers for beehive boxes

OZ, Australian Furniture Timbers Port Melbourne should be able to help you. John.

If you go to any woodwork expo they have wood and theres a place in Queensland that post to Australia Lazarides Timber - Fine timber merchants they have a lot of Australian and imported timber.

Hi there, I thought beehives were painted white to reduce the
temperature inside the hive, if so does it really matter what timber
is used, IE the cheaper the better.
Oh! and also I would think the lighter the timber the better when
it comes to moving the hive, probably why pine is the timber of choice.

cheers Mick

Originally Posted by madmix

Hi there, I thought beehives were painted white to reduce the
temperature inside the hive, if so does it really matter what timber
is used, IE the cheaper the better.
Oh! and also I would think the lighter the timber the better when
it comes to moving the hive, probably why pine is the timber of choice.

cheers Mick

You got it Mick, a big box with honey in it gets heavy. I took 60 lb out of a super in Daylesford recently. Mind you we dont lift them too far when they're full!
Also be careful re the potential of the timber to be toxic to the bees, natural oils etc, and you dont usually coat the inside of the box at all.

Red cedar might be nice... but no good in the weather.
Nah I think there's a reason they use pine, eh? Beekeepers worked that one out sometime back.

fer what it's worth,

richie

Originally Posted by OzBuzz

G'day Guys & Girls,

How are you all? I live in Melbourne and i'm interested in dipping my big toe in to woodworking. I've always been interested in timber and timber products (family history of woodworking) but never had a reason to get in to it myself... now i do - i'm a hobbyist beekeeper and i'm interested in making my own hives from timbers more exotic than the 'traditional' pine box. Can you guys recommend places in Melbourne (preferably) that have a good range of well priced timbers that would suit my requirements? The difficulty i am having is:

1) finding a place that stocks timbers other than pine
2) finding places that stock boards in larger heights as the a deep beehive box is 243mm high

Any help would be much appreciated.

Also, if anybody has any offcuts they're interested in getting rid of i'd be more than happy to take it off your hands...

Thanks for your time

A mate of mine is an ex - bee keeper and I think he has some box parts in his shed ready to be assembled. he has other honey stuff too. Currently he is in Queensland on holidays and will not be back for a few weeks. If you send me your details in a private message or email I will talk to him and put you in touch. He lives in Altona Nth.

Regards
Col

Hi there Ritchie47, Yeah mate my introduction to bees was curtesy
of NSW education dept, Had to extract honey for sale at school fetes
etc, along with killing and dressing poultry and the occasional piglet.
I dont think kids are allowed do that sort of stuff anymore. Stil got to
make a Crossbow in woodwork and a knife in metalwork, and my
favorite piece of woodwork (cane) never seemed to be to far away.

cheers mick

Funnily enough, I have just had some Monterey cypress milled for full depth supers, and could spare some.

It is rough sawn to 1" thick at the moment, traditionally bee boxes are 7/8 thick, which makes it hard to get. This thickness is needed to be interchangeable with exisiting boxes and also provides insulation properties.

You cant beat machine made supers from the suppliers for ease of construction, but like you, I wanted something a bit less boring looking. Monterey cypress weathers nicely without much twisting.

If you send me a PM we can work out something, all i want is to cover a bit of the costs. I have more than I can use at the moment. Timber is located in north melb in 4 metre lengths approx

I was actually thinking of making them into "ideal" or half depth super sizes. I am worried that if I want to keep bees as I get older, I wont be able to lift full supers. I weighed one at 32 kilos a month ago. Couple that with rough ground, a back that isnt as good as it was (landscaper) and occasional angry bees, you start wishing they were lighter.


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