I am very interested in beekeeping as both a hobby and for the potential income in the production and sale of the honey,wax etc. Where does one start? I am a man of modest means. I would like to build my own hives if I could find some good step by step directions. I don't intend on taking shortcuts but a little elbow grease can save alot of money in most cases. I have been doing alot of reading but I have not found a really good beginners site on the web. Any suggestion?
Bst site for all plans:
http://www.beesource.com/plans/index.htm
If you want to start cheap, build a top bar hive. Buy a package in the spring or find someone who will make a shaken swarm for you.
A top bar hive is easy to construct, can be made of scrap lumber and easy to work.
There are pictures of some of mine here:
www.bushfarms.com
My top picks:
Beekeeping For Dummies
This site!
And Beesource.com
There are a ton of choices out there. I used the stuff of beesource to build my hives though.
Beth
Like Beth mentioned, there's a ton of stuff out there. When buying equipment, it shop around for a good price. You'd be surprised at how one supplier is dollars cheaper than another supplier. Also, make sure you don't have an apiary near your home (or hives). I went 3 months without realizing that there is a 2800 hive apiary/supplier 15 minutes from my home! Knowing about that place would have helped if, for one, they would have a website, two, I would have been from the area originally, and three, they would advertise better. You never know what you'll find.
Otherwise, if you don't want a TBH I'd say buy all mediums or better yet all eight frame mediums. :) Those 90 pound full deeps are too much for a human being to lift for very long.
Just say no to deeps. :)