Cheapest Pallet Wood Beehives

[@wilmafeuerstein434]

Another great and easy way to make a nuc. You inspired me so much. Tomorrow I will do some Bruce's nucs. Thank for sharing your knowledge.

[@mohamedamhilbelkacem162]

Thanks Bruce ! Seems nothing is wasted everything is transformed !

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Mohamed, Thanks for watching. I love my bees but hate to waste money 😎. Have a great day.

[@dcsblessedbees]

Hi Bruce, I like your pallet wood beehives, shows good stewardship. I love the little cartoon affect.🤓 Bees will glue up any of the drafts they want to inside anyway, not worries about cracks or holes. Ty for sharing your time Bruce, Blessed Days...

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you DC, I am trying to improve my sound quality and editing. Pallet wood makes sense to me because I am a cheap-Charley at heart. Have a blessed day, my friend.

[@cncjimbob1]

Bruce, great job repurposing used pallets that would have otherwise been shredded for mulch. You are correct that as long as the inside spacing is correct the bees do not care what the box is made from. I feel that the bee industry is too commercialized with a lot of companies making money off of small town guys just trying to do their part to support the bee population.

[@viklund2725]

Small visit from Sweden to see what you do online :) A small tip could be that you make a jig that keeps the 2 card sides still on the table while you assemble the first side with boards. otherwise, it was a very good idea to use pallets, which are free and often available in abundance, and the spillage can also be burned in the winter. Hade :)

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Great tip thanks!

[@unclebobsbees4899]

For ecowood application I use a disposable (plastic) concrete pan. Dip and rotate, do a deep box in 60 seconds.

[@Bouncin-Thoughts]

High Quality Content! God bless your work, it is priceless in practicality ! Thank you i

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Much appreciated! Glad you enjoyed it 😎

[@vandubay]

Great video Bruce! That's a good way to save some money! I've been trying to find a source of decent pallets close to me so I can use them to make medium supers.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Van, Thanks for watching! Try looking at the free section on Craigslist. Otherwise you just have to ask managers of businesses. Most of them are happy to let you have some. Good luck.

[@springwoodcottage4248]

Fabulous! I have been attempting over engineering, making boards all the same thickness & jointing the edges, checking with a metal detector for metal fasteners, but your success tells me I can avoid a lot of this work. I used to use a pry bar for disassembly like you do, but following various KZbin video I now use a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade to cut through the nails & then punch them out & this has increased the yield of good boards & reduced splits. For preservative I have good success with raw linseed oil, but that is in the uk with 30 + inches of rain per year & so may not be good for your climate. Thank you so much for sharing this super useful information & experience.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😎

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

Nice job on this. That's how I do most of my equipment. If someone tries they really can save money. The Bee's won't mind at all. Good health and God bless 👍

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Houston, Good to hear from you. There is also a certain amount of satisfaction to be had from building your own stuff - anyway, the bees told me they like it 👍. God bless, my friend.

[@thesunbuney5048]

They look great Bruce

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you Sunbuney, I appreciate you watching and commenting!

[@dwren4554]

Always enjoy your DIY and in middle Florida! Just removed my first water meter swarm using a bucket head vac that I saw you explain…worked great, thanks. Im in the central part of Fla and if I ever get toward the east coast I’d like to stop in and say hi.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi D Wren, Thanks for your kind comments. I am glad that vacuum worked out for you - mine is still going strong after a couple of years. All the best!

[@wilvertperez]

What a great job mister Bruce. Thanks for sharing I can’t wait to build some. Thanks again

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Wilvert, Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments. This is a great hobby but it can get expensive. It just makes sense to me to save money where I can. All the best to you, Sir.

[@wilvertperez]

@@bruceandhisbees1770 God bless you and all your family mister Bruce. I definitely going to try to do it. I pay $105.00 for a five frame nuc the other day

[@JosephSastreShowsYou]

I have the same router table. What about running the boards through to give them each a clean edge -like with a joiner- and then glue and clamp them together to make wide boards? You would still be left with one side that is flush which you could face inward. This way you could use the pallet wood for all four sides. The three larger pieces of the pallet can be re-sawn to make frames.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Great tip! Thanks.

[@father_talks4983]

Дуже гарно вийшло. Вулики суперові

[@ohoiboi9818]

Thanks for taking the time to make the videos Bruce. Quick question if you happen to know the answer. Can you use bee wax and apply it on the wood to preserve it and or inside as a bait with a little lemon oil to catch swarms in the nuc boxes? Thanks hope your channel grows

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Ohio, Sorry for the late response. It would get pretty expensive to use beeswax on the outside of the boxes as a preservative. Most people that are wax dipping their boxes to preserve them are using paraffin - this works really well. Now putting some wax inside to attract swarms does work. I use one frame of old, nasty brood comb and a little spritz of Swarm Commander. Bees love the smell.

[@MusicMountainBeeWorX]

I really enjoy your videos. What are the dimensions of the lumber that you're using to build these nucs? Length of sideboards?

[@ucfdad33]

Bruce, big Mike here. Great video!

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you Big Mike, I appreciate you watching and commenting 🙂.

[@issentsov]

Bruce, do you mind if I translate some of your videos and use on my channel? I provide the videos with the links to the original ones and to your channel as I do with Bob Binnie's, Ian Steppler's and other beekeepers' channels.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi, I think that would be okay. Please let me know.

[@donaldmccann3217]

What’s the the size of your pallet swarm trap

[@scotthenderson4376]

A lot of work but worth it. Do you find the difference in thickess causes rain to try and get in the sides or do you put the thick sections at the top

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I try to put the thicker bits on top but once it is all painted up, it doesn’t seem to matter much.

[@redwood1957]

Whats the nuc box for? Its not a long term hime? I love reusing pallets. Thanks

[@hughjones7310]

Thanks Bruce. What do you use to preserve to wood?

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I use Tall Earth, I think it is also marketed as Eco Wood preservative. You get it on Amazon as a powder you mix with water. After it is dry from dipping in Tall Earth, I paint the boxes and they last a long time.

[@pauld1456]

How do you know if a pallet has been treated with insecticide, fungicide or wood preservative? Wouldn’t it be toxic to bees?

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Paul, Thanks for stopping by! First, pressure treated wood used to be processed with arsenic but they stopped this in 1993 so look for newer pallets. Next there are codes marked on the pallets. A good article to look at is: generalpallets.com/pallet-markings-and-what-they-mean/. I have been making pallet hives for a few years now with good results but do be careful and think about what was carried on the pallets. I avoid getting pallets from places that transport oils or hazardous chemicals.

[@beefriendlychannel7965]

Pallets have to be food grade unless its a freight pallet. Standard 4 foot pallets are kiln dried ash, mostly.

[@beefriendlychannel7965]

Pro tip: put a wad of propolis in the screw pilot hole. The friction will heat it up, and lock that screw in place when it cools.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Good tip, thanks

[@carlmcguire2204]

Great vid please get a impactor to shoot those scews a counter sinker bit is so nice to thanks for the tips and ideas you da man

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Great suggestion, Thanks Carl 😎

[@JoeandAngie]

What's "tall earth"?

[@zamzamoil1517]

Excellent idea, thanks.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Glad you liked it!

[@Lsmith-ly2cm]

Good one Bruce, thank you.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you very much! I appreciate your kind words.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

I use my old scaffolding boards to build Lazutin hives.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Awesome Eli, There is real satisfaction in building your own equipment. Good on you Sir!

[@womenofgodunderconstruction]

Amazing job by the way

[@jadaneforbes5083]

How many pallets you use? Bruce

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Jaden, it is hard to say. There is a custom cabinet shop in town that gives me pallets most any time I want some so I just go get some as I need them.

[@kentcostello5286]

Hay looks awesome & cheap to do . But what tipe of glue do you use I know some glue can be harmful to honeybees. I read that in one of my beekeeping books but I can't find it yet .

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Hi Kent, Thanks for watching. I always use Titebond III on my hive boxes. It is waterproof and holds really well. If you clean up any excess glue that goes into the box, the bees never come into contact with the glue.

[@kentcostello5286]

@@bruceandhisbees1770 there are some wood glues are toxic tobe bees I what to save my girls not to kill them.

[@tckingfish]

Dip it in what? as a wood preservative.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I use Tall Earth Eco wood preservative. You can get it on Amazon.

[@drlawler]

do you add a hole? or subtract a hole? ;)

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I make a hole with a entrance disk on the boxes that I make attached bottoms for. Most of these boxes are made without a hole and are used as supers over other five-frame boxes. I do make some five-frame bottoms as well - I have a previous video about making tops and bottoms.

[@eliasdeleon9424]

Great idea sir.

[@rcuasito]

Aren’t pallets chemically treated?

[@pijoe86]

Good cost effective way to knock out a few NUCs. My only concern especially for newbies and non tradesmen is the Severe Weather ground contact pressure treated 2x8 lumber. with the Copper, Chromium and Arsenic and other pesticides. I'll opt for the non pressure treated due to not wanting sick bees and industrial contaminants in the wax and honey. I'm not knocking the video since you did a great breakdown and tutorial, but would go with something a wee bit healthier.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I am also concerned about anything bad for the bees going into the hives. But, the US stopped using toxins in the pressure treatments in 1994. I have been making hives this way for years with no problem. I am careful about what materials the pallets were used to haul though.

[@opsydul0175]

thank you sir very very nice video 🥰

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Most welcome

[@jonathanluizdeandrade-zl4fe]

Encontrei alguém que faz igual a mim aqui no Brasil parabéns estamos salvando muita madeira e economizando dinheiro

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Excellent Jonathan, thanks for watching 😎

[@Mike1962nz]

Surely you must have some spare wax somewhere to treat that saw bench top 😂

[@weirhauch1002]

Thanks for your sir

[@stevevorpe5735]

Traduire en Francais.Mercie 😊

[@adamsmithson486]

Pozdrawiam serdecznie i życzę miłego dnia

[@beefriendlychannel7965]

Pallet wood is mostly ash. Baseball bat wood.

[@11BossLife11]

Thanks to you

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

I appreciate it Sir!

[@joeyperez8581]

Outstanding

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Thank you Sir..

[@brettellis1837]

Way cheaper to go to a saw mill pine one get a tree pack have it all cut to your size ie box and frames go 50/50 on tree miss the middle man.

[@bruceandhisbees1770]

Great suggestion Brett, unfortunately I don’t know of any saw mills in my area though.

[@ИгорьИванов-у8я]

Moscow ❤️

[@user-Sandgrounderhoney]

The sounds of a screw head being rounded 😅... not music to my ears... you need to get yourself a fitting screw hex

[@jevonedmond9914]

This is called assembly not making

[@sheilamclaughlin963]

Uonly run 5 frame??

[@sheilamclaughlin963]

Use torx screws instead of phillips as they drive better