Peter wrote: "Top bar hives are cheap to make ...  sort of.  You can 
get away with
using a range of materials, you do not need top quality lumber, cutting
has to be only approximate so if you are not making yourself you can 
use
less skilled labor."

I recycle pallet planks to make mine so they cost nothing.  I wax the 
outside of the hive with a hot iron to waterproof it.  The design is a 
half cylinder (the bees naturally favour a catenary shaped comb) the 
diameter being 17" which is the length of the top bar of most hives 
here in the UK.  This enables me to take out a few bars to put in a 
standard nucleus box for the same reasons that you would do with a 
framed hive.

The entrance is at the south end. This has two advantages a) you can 
work from the back and the bees don't know you're there and b) they 
tend to rear their brood at the front and place their stores at the 
rear so harvesting is easier.

When it comes to harvesting, nowadays I tend to let them winter on 
their own stores and take my harvest from what has been proved to be 
surplus honey at willow/dandelion blossom time. Timing it right, there 
will be few bees on the honey comb and they can be removed with a brush 
or a feather (goose quills are good).  The comb is lowered into a 
plastic bag and a Swiss Army hive tool applied to detach it from the 
top bar, leaving a footprint of maybe 1/4" to guide the bees for 
rebuilding.

Chris

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