Combination Screened Bottom Board with Slatted Racks

[Joseph Clemens]

I realize there may be no earth-shattering reason for using slatted racks. I'm sure if I were beekeeping commercially I could not justify the extra trouble and expense of creating them.

However, it sure is fun to use them to have fun with the bees. It sure beats poking them with a stick.

Inspired by other's plans I created this:

http://www.cordovan-honeybee.com/statted_rack_SBB/SR_SBB_gallery.htm

[stilllearning]

nothing on the link yet  site still under construction

[Joseph Clemens]

When I test it, it works for me. It sounds like you tried to go to the root of this web or the domain, which is cordovan-honeybee.com. There is no web site at this domain, yet. There are, however, a few photo galleries which I created at certain URL's on this domain.

This is the URL for the photo gallery associated with this post:
http://www.cordovan-honeybee.com/statted_rack_SBB/SR_SBB_gallery.htm

The root domain, http://www.cordovan-honebee.com only has an "Under Construction" place holder home page. It is not yet a "web site".

Does anyone else have trouble with this link?

[Romahawk]

Looks good to me, see a bunch of pictures of your modificztions.

[Michael Bush]

It doesn't open for me either.

[Romahawk]

Well I saw them the other day but now I get a page not found error.

[Joseph Clemens]

Sorry about that. It seems my DNS forwarding service has changed how they forward.

I have changed the home page so that it will take you to either photo gallery.

Again, I apologize for the difficulty. Just go to this home page and select the gallery you wish to view:

http://cordovan-honeybee.com/

[drobbins]

Joseph,

I've been playing around with a similar scheme
I ran the slats so they are directly under the frames, the idea being that they won't interfere with natural mite fall that way.
I also made the screen removable, the plan being to only insert it if you have a problem with robing, this may help with mite fall (the mites can't grab the screen) and just give the bee's the whole bottom as an entrance

from the front
http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/dsc01020.jpg

from the back
http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/dsc01021.jpg

slide in tray
http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/dsc01024.jpg

tray with sticky board
http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/dsc01025.jpg

Dave

[bee crazy]

Those SBB/slatted bottoms really look nice. Where are you guys getting the 1/8 X 1/8 hardware cloth? I've only have been able to find it at Kellys but in large rolls. I just need a few feet. Menards and Home Depot in my area only carries the 1/4" stuff.

Thanks

[drobbins]

I got it at Ace Hardware
kinda pricey, $2.80/ft for 3 ft wide

I think a 50 ft roll was ~ $65

Dave

[Michael Bush]

Since I use no bottom entrances anymore, I just put the #8 on the bottom of the slatted rack.  :)  Since the slats break up the draft, I don't think I really need a tray unless I want to monitor the mites and since I'm not seeing enough to matter anymore, I don't think I'll bother propping it up for a slide in tray.

[manowar422]

Since I use no bottom entrances anymore, I just put the #8 on the bottom of the slatted rack.

Michael,

Since your hives have no bottom entrance, do some of the
bees fly in and out through the wire or do they use the upper
entrance exclusively?

[Michael Bush]

A bee cannot get through #7 or #8 hardward cloth.  #6 is the minimum "squeeze through" size and even #5 causes them to lose their pollen.  My bottom boards are all #8 and the bees cannot get through them.  There is no way in the bottom at all.

[Jerrymac]

One of my hives has 1/4 mesh on the bottom. Basically an open bottom. The bees use it more than they do the hive entrance.

[manowar422]

I'm giving some thought to building my own slatted rack
and was wondering if I used a medium super and spaced
row over row, etc. of dowel rods on 3/8 bee space, do y'all
think the natural mite drop would still work OK?

The pattern of rods would look like a pegboard, only every
other row would be offset

I'm imagining this would hold a very large number of bees.

Opinions please :)

[Joseph Clemens]

Sounds interesting, I think I will try something similar on my next bottom board construction. Mine wouldn't be an entire super, though that sounds interesting too.

I can picture it, a row of wooden dowels parallel to the frames, separated by one bee space from each other, one bee space above the bottom #8 screen and one bee space beneath each bottom bar. It will just be an extension of my trying different interesting things, a non-scientific test, I might try the clustering super you describe, but I'd just use layers of normal slats, mostly because dowels cost too much. I would probably use 1-1/2" wide redwood slats, 1/4" thick, which are available at my local hardware store.

[manowar422]

I might try the clustering super you describe, but I'd just use layers of normal slats, mostly because dowels cost too much. I would probably use 1-1/2" wide redwood slats, 1/4" thick, which are available at my local hardware store.

I'm imagining the mites dropping through the dowels like pinballs,
not having any flat surfaces to stop their fall down through the hive

Joseph, do you mind if I steal your name for this thing?
(Clustering Super, Patent Pending) Bahahahahahahaha!

[Joseph Clemens]

Sure, you are welcome to use the name, "Clustering super". I wonder how the bees swarming impulse may be affected.

[manowar422]

Ok folks, here’s what I came up with…

The slatted rack I built has a solid board in the middle (pic #0024),
to prevent cold drafts from blowing up through the center of the brood chamber.
Hopefully the queen will lay all the way to the bottom of the frames now.

The Clustering Super will not be duplicated with dowel rods in the future (Joseph
was right, too expensive) next design will be boards with long slots cut with a router.
I’m working on it now.

I like the way the entrance turned out on the C.S., it sticks out from the front of the
hive about 4 inches and the entrance could be placed any where in the stack of boxes.

It’s larger opening is easier to “hit” in the Texas winds, yet the openings through the
dowels are actually smaller than a standard bottom board entrance and could be
defended by a smaller number of guard bees.

I plan to place the C.S. on top of the brood chambers (three mediums).
So I’ll have on the pallet â€" Slatted rack, brood boxes, The C.S., then honey supers as needed.
With an entrance in the middle, the bees can enter, and then go down to the brood
or up into the supers.

Some of you will question the “bee space” violation of the dowels, but if the bees
build any comb among the rods, I’ll address it in the next design.






#0022 a small heavy-duty pallet that I cut to fit the “slatted rack”.


#0016 the rack installed on the pallet.


#0024 view of the rack standing on end on a table top.


#0023 view of the bottom of the rack.


#0017 Clustering Super laying upside-down on the table, the pallet
(on the ground) is showing in the background.


#0021 is a close-up of the spacing of the dowels in the CS.


#0020 shows the CS entrance on the left as it sits on the rack.

[Joseph Clemens]

manowar422,

Very impressive, looks like you did an exceptional job creating your prototypes.

I am still only in the planning stages with my own clustering space/upper entrance. I have several 3" high trimmings from previously deep supers (I call them super rims), my plan is to use 5/16" diameter dowels (mounted through appropriate diameter holes) as cross-braces for 1/4" thick and 1-1/2" wide redwood lath attached lengthwise and cut 5/16" short on each end, repeating the layers of dowel and lath as necessary. I then plan to use them in combination with a 5/16" thick rim where one side will project about 2" beyond the super edge and with a piece of wood as a landing platform -- a relocatable upper entrance that I plan to use in conjunction with a thin clustering super as just described.