Do not steal my nuc?

[Oldbeavo]

There is a Youtube of how to make 4 nucs out of one sheet of ply.
Funnybugbees is what it is i think.
Anyway, find theYoutube,
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-C-lO48UUw

Watch the show and you will notice the guy is cutting his nuc with a pistol on his hip. Very obvious at 9:15 min.
Bad bee country.
It disappears later in the show.

[ifixoldhouses]

Yep here in NC you can open carry, unless you have a concealed weapon permit.

[van from Arkansas]

Mr. Beavo, there are several states in US that are open carry or permit carry of pistols.  Montana, where I lived for 30 years was open carry.  Extremely low crime rate in Montana.  I never took the keys out of my truck, no need to worry.

Mexico on the opposite extreme, has the highest gun control in the world (sorta)with the insane high crime rate too.  Go figure?

How ever, in Arkansas, permit carry state, my state, hives in the open but wooded areas out of site are just asking to be stolen.  A different kind of robbing you might say.  So my beek friends place homing transmitters in hives due to hive theft.

Personally, I dont carry, no crime in my neighborhood, hives safe in backyard.  Now bear, well thats another issue...

[yes2matt]

I know that you were interested in the gun.

But I learned by doing this (four nucs out of a sheet of ply) that there are different kinds of plywood. Some is for exterior use, Some is for interior use only.  The first time I made them I accidentally got the right kind of plywood, exterior. And I have those nucs four years later, they rock.  The second time I accidentally got the wrong kind, and those warped and were useless the first season.

Because wood was so expensive, I tried making these out of hard foam insulation board, the kind with aluminum facing. Guess what? Bees don't like hard foam, and chewed those boxes to bits.

[Ben Framed]

Building materials are out of the roof in my area yet construction is still booming at the present time. If a person only wanted to make a few nucs, 4 or so, they might go to some of these construction sites. Usually the builders, when approached correctly, will let you scrap the scraps.   

[Ben Framed]

Remembering a post from OldBeavo recently. Which is another good idea if someone has the time.

You can make nucs out of pallet wood. Coat of paint and you have 10 years. Buy paint at garage sales, very cheap, color not relevent for a nuc.
They normally don't spend much of the year in damp weather and will last.

[Oldbeavo]

Yes2matt
I am not sure why your bees took the foam apart, as we run 120 polstyrene Paradise hives. The only little chew has been where the lid has not been put back properly and they have chewed a little exit hole.

On the cheap topic you can find pallets that are 3/4 and if lucky 1". I have used a polyurethane glue that is strong but expends on drying and fills small gaps.
Also form ply for concreting, black plastic both sides makes excellent bottoms, just seal the cut surfaces with heaps of paint. Bees don't chew the plastic, too hard.

[Robo]

Yes2matt
I am not sure why your bees took the foam apart, as we run 120 polstyrene Paradise hives. The only little chew has been where the lid has not been put back properly and they have chewed a little exit hole.

I run all beemax polystyrene and have similar results to you.   It all comes down to the density of the foam.  I would not call what Matt is referring to as hard when compared to manufactured poly hives.   I would more likely call it rigid.   I use the stuff he mentions as extra insulation under the covers in winter.   Any little nick or cut in the foil and they will chew through it like butter.

BTW, with the price of plywood here in the states he probably needed the protection to get the sheets home.   Now a days,  it is probably cheaper to use "real wood" for nucs.   This price is coming down and should be back to "normal" in the next few months.  Supposedly just a supply chain issue.

[Oldbeavo]

I am sure your right Robo, but i get a certain amount of satisfaction out of taking someones throw away and turning it into something useful.
Time to do these projects is not relevant as there is nothing worth while on TV in OZ between 5 and 7. Anyway the shed has a wood heater, stereo and a beer fridge. So projecting is very pleasant.

[yes2matt]

Yes2matt
I am not sure why your bees took the foam apart, as we run 120 polstyrene Paradise hives. The only little chew has been where the lid has not been put back properly and they have chewed a little exit hole.

On the cheap topic you can find pallets that are 3/4 and if lucky 1". I have used a polyurethane glue that is strong but expends on drying and fills small gaps.
Also form ply for concreting, black plastic both sides makes excellent bottoms, just seal the cut surfaces with heaps of paint. Bees don't chew the plastic, too hard.

It's not proper polystyrene.  I also have BeeMax hives.

It's rigid foam insulation board with a thin piece of aluminum on each side. They were actually super easy to make! Cutting with a knife, etc. I might could have coated the exposed foam parts with Titebond glue but didn't. I was super excited about the R3, and considering getting some thicker stuff and modifying the pattern.   I don't have a good picture, but they ate the foam out from under the frames, opened their entrance to almost fist-sized, etc.  I got them out in time but would have lost the colony probably.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RMAX-Pro-Select-R-Matte-Plus-3-1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-R-3-2-Foam-Insulation-Board-637902/313501506