> This morning I went to beesource.com and looked at the Langstroth design
> available there.  Here I thought I might find confirmation of my theoretical
> understanding.  I found frame support rabbets 5/8 inch deep, and elsewhere
> on the site reference to 1/2" think top bars on frames, which would leave
> only 1/8" above the frames, not bee space at all.

Hi Frank -

I want to at least respond to this much of your post. The plans for the
Langstroth hive design show the rabbet for the frame rest to be 5/8" deep.
In the construction notes, it also states to attach metal rabbets on the
frame rest notch. The overall height dimension of the deep hive body is
shown as 9-5/8".

Now on the plans for the frames, the height for the deep frames are 9-1/8".
That leaves a total of 3/8" between each set of frames that are stacked on
top of each other in hive bodies (between top bar of lower set and bottom
bar of upper set). If made according to the plans, you end up with an 1/8"
space above the frames and 1/4" below the frames, giving you a total of
3/8".

I hope this clears up the confusion.

Regards,
Barry