Spending a rainy day assembling Langstroth boxes and frames

Soon to be beginner beekeeper here...my husband got me a hive and some beekeeping equipment for my birthday, and I'll be getting a nuc from a local beekeeper in less than two weeks. So, I decided to spend this rainy afternoon putting everything together.

I found a helpful video on Youtube by Galena Farms where my husband purchased this hive and got to work. A few things I learned along the way:

1. If you're using wood glue to put together the frames, don't glue them all and then nail. Glue one, nail that one, move on to the next. I had to redo a few because the glue dried without adhering the pieces before I nailed them together, and those frames popped apart when I was putting in the wax foundation. If you work fast, this probably isn't an issue for you. Or, alternatively, you could just glue a few and nail a few, which is probably what I'll do next time.

2. When nailing together the frames, make sure you're hitting the joints at dead center. Same with nailing the supers together--this is easier because you're working with bigger joints and longer nails than with the frames. I hit a few nails in the frame joints that went through the sides of side bars--I removed them and re-nailed in a different place, again because when putting in the wax foundation, the frames came apart.

Now, I need to decide the best place to put them...I just finished planting a bunch of fruit trees and shrubs, so I think they will go in the orchard, even though there won't be a lot blooming there this year. There are a lot of crabapples though, and it's on higher ground, south-facing, and sheltered by a big pine windbreak. BONUS, I can collect the dead pine needles for the smoker!

As for my beekeeping goals, while I do like honey and will hopefully harvest some in the next few years, my main objective is to just be a good host and provide a lot of forage sources.

That's a beautiful hive. Looks like it's ready for some bees!

It doesn't mention what type of hammer you used. I've found that a ball peen hammer works better than a claw hammer because it's easier to control precisely.

Mike Barkley wrote:That's a beautiful hive. Looks like it's ready for some bees!

It doesn't mention what type of hammer you used. I've found that a ball peen hammer works better than a claw hammer because it's easier to control precisely.

Thanks, Mike...it is pretty nice, all dipped in wax and ready to go outside! Thanks for the info on the hammer--I did use a claw hammer, albeit a small one, and will use the ball peen next time as per your advice. Maybe I just have to practice my hammering skills, too...