Given the holidays, this week has been a bit slower than the past few. I stopped at MidwestCedarHives and met with Jim there. Picked up a modified Layens frame, simplified for ease of production. Tuning the final prototype meant going to a slightly thicker plywood so that the frames wouldn’t drop in. Then we slightly modified the bottoms just a tiny bit – almost imperceptibly – but just enough to keep the bee space consistent. From there we went to the hive assembly.
I did a very precise cut layout but I cut them free hand with my circle saw. It was worse than that because I really don’t have a workshop. I put the 4×8′ sheet on top of my lawn tractor. The snowblower spout kinda made it level but very tippy. I should have set up a tripod to document the craziness. Plus it was only 15F which is really cold to do woodworking. Those down-south beekeepers. The prototype really did come out perfectly. Now the assembly shop will work on replicating that with CNC cutting and see if theirs is as good. I suggested that they NOT take my measurements for granted but do them over.
The plan right now is to produce 100 to prove the concept. Three research universities have expressed interest, lots of friends. Late this past week, I created an Indiegogo account. They are the people who helped get the FlowHive launched. Of course the difference is that this Bee House really is designed for people who merely want to house and have bees, whether the bees stay or go, produce honey or not, these boxes will create wonderful habitat for bees to move in, live, swarm and perhaps even produce surplus honey.
Until next week… John