Many of you know that I’m obsessed with bees and beekeeping. This year I made my own bee boxes (i.e. bee hives). My boxes are a variation on the Warre style hive. There’s a great explanation about this kind of hive, as well as plans if you’re interested in building your own at TheBeeSpace.
The coolest thing about my boxes is that they started out as old worn down Langstroth hives. These are the hives you’ll see honey producers and many hobby beekeepers use, they’re by far the most common.
I took these old boxes, tore them apart, and trucked them to Home Resource – Missoula’s totally awesome re-use lumber and household appliance store that has a professional wood shop in the back where you can rent time… which I do. There I sanded off the worn and weathered wood until the boards looked almost like new.
Because Langstroth boxes are so much bigger than my Warre hives, I was able to saw off the split finger joints and make stronger new joints. The wood looked nice, and the boxes looked really nice, but it wasn’t until I painted them with lindseed oil (for natural preservation and protection) that the beauty wood really came through. Most of this is cedar.
Regardless, the bees arrive Friday. If you’re in the area and you want to be a part of the process, let me know – it’s quick, painless, and really thrilling.