The Woodshop Shed

Warre Garden Hive

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


I finally took the plunge into beekeeping. Inspired by the book “The Idle Beekeeper” I dove in with my woodworking interest and built 2 Warre hives. I used 5/4 pine 'hobby panels' from the local lumberyard to skip a lot of edge-gluing. Much reading and research produced numerous free plans for the main hive. I used several variations by adding windows to each box, screened bottom boards, modified triangular top bars with 1/2 sides, top screens, stands and also built a feeder box (not pictured). I finished the first one and stocked it with a 3 lb. package of bees and a queen the end of June. 3 weeks later it has 2 full boxes of bees and comb and is going strong. The woodworking was not formidable but it was my first project using metric measurements. It is finished only on the outside with 2 coats of linseed oil. It is an interesting project, not only to build something new, but also make sure that is appealing to humans (a great addition to the garden) and make sure it is healthy for the bees.

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