Hi all,
I would like to make a slatted rack and screen the bottom. I would put this on top or my inverted bottom board which leaves about 1/2" air space. I intend to use the migratory covers like Mike Bush. Would this system work? Can I use screen I have left over from screened porch materials? I will run the slats same as the frames and I think I will round over the top edges with the router after assy. Are there any slatted rack plans out there?
Thanks very much for any help.
"Can I use screen I have left over from screened porch materials?"
Depends on what you are wanting to accomplish. This type of screen is too closely woven for mites to drop through but it will do well in ventilation provided you keep the junk cleaned off of it.
Ok, so I need more like the 1/8" screen I think I read. I will get some. I think I read to skip the top board if using top entry. Is this true? With the top entry I think I will need some ventilation from the bottom and the screen should do that I hope.
#8 hardware cloth (aka 1/8 inch mesh) is good for SBB's, #7 cloth works well too. For your slatted racks I would suggest using 1 3/4-2 inch wide shim and spacing dowling about the width as the top bars of the frames so that the dowling aligns with the frames. The rounded surfaces of the dowling ensures that more of the mites will fall through the screen. With the commercial available slatted racks the surfaces are flat and mites end up staying on them where they can hitch another ride on another bee. Also the design of slatted rack I use works will as a queen excluder above the brood chamber and the rack also creates a "spare room" for the extra bees to hang out in, out of the way of those working which opens up the hive more and allows better movement of the bees and better airflow plus it reduces bearding and swarming.
I highly recommend slatted racks.
Thankyou for your help Brian. I understant everything except the 1 3/4-2" shims. Where are they?
The shim is the frame that holds the dowling. It's referred to as a shim because of its narrow depth. essentially a shim is a spacer of 1-3 inches between hive components.
Ahh, thanks so much. I made my shim 2 1/4". I need to work on the terminalogy.
http://www.beesource.com/plans/bottomrack.htm