Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[bajaboyd]

I have built my first hive following PJ Chandlers plans. I even have it loaded with very industrious bees I am very satisfied with the progress being made. I have an immediate problem though. Both the follower boards warped significantly. I replaced one of them using different wood. Ash instead if Western Red Cedar. That is beginning to warp also Is there some secret that I am missing?

[Dexter's shed]

all woods will warp to a degree depending on water content etc, new/seasoned timber/heat/cold etc
as it's now happened twice, why not try either a plywood or plastic substitute

[Manuel Robert]

you could also use tongue and groove boards ( not too wide ones ) screwed onto battens without pushing them too tightly together ( the boards ).

[trekmate]

If you try again use wood from the centre of the tree. Look at the end-grain, if you see part circles it's from the outer part of the tree, if you see the centre of the rings it's from the middle of the tree and less likely to warp, no matter what the wood.

The source of the problem though is high humidity on one side and low humidity the other.

[stevecook172001]

[biobee]

...or just use external grade plywood, sealed with shellac. That's what I do.

[jumbleoak]

[CeeBee]

Is the warping actually causing a problem? I guess it is, otherwise you wouldn't be trying different things. Mine (made of the same 'scaffolding board' as most of the hive itself, so about as thick as a top bar, certainly aren't flat - neither are the sides of the hive. I've planed and filed them (before bees were in residence) to achieve a compromise fit in the half of the hive where the particular follower is to be used. Better loose (too small) than not fitting at all - the worst thing, I reckon, is when it jams agsinst the sides (or hits the bottom) before the bar at the top is resting on the sides - if this happens, then it's likely to pivot about the contact points and leave a gap between it and the first bar.

[Barbara]

I agree with CeeBee. A perfect fit is not important, but if the warping is causing problems, I used an old sheet of quarter inch MDF which I had lying around. It certainly won't warp. I painted it with melted wax just to seal in any unpleasant chemicals in the glue from the bees but to be fair the bees are hardly ever on it. Sandwiched it between two thin lats at the top for it to hang from and works a treat.

[andy pearce]

External plywood... works fine.
A

[catchercradle]

Untreated scaff boards seem good. We get the ones that are rejects for scaffolding but can cut them such that the flaws don't cause a problem. Local place that also recycles wood round Cambridge does them.

[jumbleoak]

[madasafish]

I use Insulation - Celotex or Kingspan aluminised.. Fixed to top bar. Easily cut to shape.. and of course it can be easily made to fit using small bits of card. Cover the cut ends with aluminium foil and paint with masonry paint.

Nice and light..

[MikeRobinson]

Followers can be made of other kinds of (non-wood) building material fastened into a top-bar. But another way to deal with warping is to lightly coat them with Thompson's Water-Seal. (Just one thinnest coat will do nicely.) I used this on the outside of the hive (not the inside), and on the roof, and in three seasons they still look fine. If the follower seriously-warped, it might not have been made of a well-seasoned wood?

All of the wood that I used anywhere consisted of weathered boards that had been used somewhere-else on the farm during the past 20 years or so; dismantled sheds and so-forth, all unpainted.