Peter, we started out years ago using lath, nails, and hive staples.  By
the time you are ready to load, the bees are not very happy.  Nailing and
prying off the lathe eventually takes its toll on equipment.

We've used nylon web straps for years.  These are available in the U.S. and
you can make your own (buy straps and buckles) or buy the complete unit.
Keep an eye on sales at auto parts centers, KMART, Walmart, etc.

Almost any will work as well as the lathe with a lot less disturbance to
the bees.  However, for reliability and ease of use, invest in straps with
rachets.  The friction buckles and clips, and the clamp style systems are
hard to pull down tight, and if a hive topples during loading, the boxes
may slide apart.

With the rachets, you can pull the straps so tight that they will dig into
the covers and bottoms, leaving dents in the wood.  Those hives can fall
off the truck and still stay together.  With lifts, etc.; no need to crank
them down that tight.

In the U.S., the rachets come in two styles:  Web straps with hooks, and
web straps that simply thread through the rachet -- no hooks.  Both styles
thread through rachet to take up slack and tighten.  Either works fine,
your preference.  I don't like the hooks as well, you have to position the
hooks over a flat surface (box side or cover).  But, you can leave the free
end threaded through the rachet - something that's not easy with gloves (if
you wear them).  Me, I prefer the ones without hooks -- more flexible.
But, my crews like the hooks better.

Be sure to buy straps that are long enought to go fully around your tallest
hive body stack (they are sold in various lengths - 8ft, 12 ft, 16 ft, etc.)

Now, if you use the rachets, there are three important tips to remember.

1.  Position the rachet near the center of the cover - its a lot easier to
get to it there, and it won't interfer with side-by-side loading of hives
(the rachets get in the way if they are between the hives (hive body sides).

2.  After threading the web strap through the rachet, pull through as much
slack as possible before starting to work the rachet.  DO NOT just start
cranking away on the rachet.  If you do so, you will get a large roll of
web strap inside the rachet - and it will certainly JAM.

3.  To keep from tripping over extra web straps dangling down the sides
(especially true with long straps over short stacks), just before you full
tighten the strap, fold up the excess strap and tuck it under the web strap
on top of the cover, just ahead or behind the rachet buckle.  Now, when you
tighten down the strap, it will trap the excess web strap underneath, where
the wind can't blow it free.

4.  If you insist on really tightening these straps down to the point where
you can pluck them like a guitar string, be aware that you will indent the
wood, and that you will have to fight the release mechanism.  Here's
another trick.  Most of these rachets have two releases, one on each side
of the hinge mechanism.  Note, I said TWO releases.  These are usually a
T-shaped bit of metal with a spring that is held against the teeth of the
rachet mechanism.  The trick is to engage the rachet tightening lever, just
a bit, as if you are going to tighten even more.  That will take the
pressure off of the release on the other side of the hinge (the part of the
buckle that does not move).  Pull back on the release, and the strap will
begin to come loose.  Now, release the tightening lever and the release on
its side of the gear teeth.  Pull upward on the whole mechanism, and both
sides of the web straps should slide loose.  Keeping in mind, you still
have to be pulling the releases back.  Takes two hands, but even the
tightest straps come loose.


Finally, these straps are not UV resistant.  The cheap straps with the
friction buckles last no more than a yr or 2. The better nylon straps with
rachets usually last several years - even if left on the hives.

For our research hives, we use both.  Rather than fuss with rocks, weights,
and other things to keep wind AND KIDS from knocking off the covers, we use
the cheap straps to keep the lids on and things together.  For moving, we
pull out the rachet straps.  But, we never move all of the hives at one
time.  As such, we don't leave the expensive straps out in the weather.
The others, particularly if you build your own, are relatively cheap.

In our part of the world, almost any hardware or outdoors recreation store
sells strapping of all sizes and materials by the ft from large rolls.  And
the buckles are also easy to get.  We can't buy the rachets - so I watch
for sales at Wally Mart.

Jerry