On Sat, 9 Nov 1996, Gerry Visel wrote:
>
> Joe, Jim, and all,
>
>    I think I'd like to try some TBHs in the spring.  Let us know the url
> when you get the pages together.  Include some artwork/pictures if you
> can.  It sounds like you have some flexibility with dimensions.  What
> works for you?  (Bar length, # of bars, depth, etc.)  I presume the bars
> are rectangular cross section, and "self-spacing" (butting against each
> other side by side?)
 
Gerry and others, about the only critical thing in a tbh is the width of
the tb.  For Italian bees the bar needs to be 35mm wide.  For African bees
it is 32mm wide...Paul Magnuson told me I could plane my bars down when
African bees got to my area. ;).  Width of bars and number of bars can
vary.  I have most of my hives with 20 bars.  Pauls original plans were
for hives about 900mm long; my hives are 750mm  long.  I do have one hive
that I made from a pair of old cabinet doors...it gave a hive that is much
deeper and has 24 bars if I recall correctly.  It produces some huge
combs.  I also made up some queen mating nucs that have 5 bars that are
half the length of a regular bar in my full-size hives.  If I want a bar
of bees and brood for the nuc, I just take a full size bar, cut a gap of
comb out of the center, and then saw the bar in half.  Presto! Two bars
with comb, etc. to put in the mating nuc with a queen cell or virgin
queen.  Try *that* with a frame from a conventional hive!
 
>
>    Have you ever tried extracting a TBH "frame"?  My two framer has
> expandded metal baskets that would probably do it fine.  The frames
> aren't supporting anything then.
 
Oh, there are various things that could be tried.  How about resting a
comb and its bar on a piece of sandscreen (hardware cloth) on top of a
bucket after uncapping the comb...sling it round and round.  Might work,
but then I wouldn't have the beeswax as part of the harvest and...I'd have
to put the sticky comb somewhere.  Nope, been there and done that...no
more for me.
 
>    I am corresponding with a beekeeper, Dr. Vladimir Obolonkin, from
> Minsk, Belarus, who uses very large frames, and a very long hive body
> which uses up to 24 frames, 25 cm wide x 41 cm deep (10 x 14 inches.)
> They are thus tall, wide, and thin front-to-back, compared to
> langstroths.
 
I sent Vlad some photos and information about what I have been doing.  He
told me of some tb type of hive in use in his country if I understood
correctly.  Eva Crane mentions a type of hive used in some region over
there.
 
>    I guess I didn't expect a world standard, but this BEE-L sure brings
> to light many (working) ways of doing the same thing.  (Ask five
> beekeepers how to something, and get six ways to do it!)  And they all
> do it that way because it works well for them!
>
>    We can all learn...
>
 
Yes, you are quite correct here.  I've gotten a wealth of information from
all of you on BEE-L!
 
Cordially yours,
 
Jim
 
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  |  James D. Satterfield        |  E-Mail: [log in to unmask]       |
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