peak-hives.co.uk » Local Timber

Peak Hives Photo Competition

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:48:34 +0000

To celebrate the New Year and upcoming beekeeping season and as a small thank you to all our customers we are offering a Fully Assembled Peak Hives Nucleus Hive in Cedar as the top prize in a photo competition open to any Peak Hives customer. Just email us a photo of your Hive/Apiary and the best shot will win the Nuc. We’ll include Hoffman frames (a new Peak Hives product). Second prize is a Cedar Brood Box and the runner up will get a Cedar Super. All we ask is permission to put the photo into a gallery section that will feature on the Peak Hives website.

The closing date is Aug 1st 2011 when the winners will be informed. So no need to go out in the bitter cold of winter…

Good luck and thank you for your custom. Mail your photos to nicholas@peak-hives.co.uk

All the best for the 2011 beekeeping season!

Nick and Adriana

4 different timbers?

admin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:46:34 +0000

Well no. There’s just two as can be seen in the image below. Western Red Cedar and Red Deal. In woodworking it’s not often you come across a timber that can have quite such a gamut of colouring as that of Western Red Cedar. As can be seen in the picture the leftmost timber is Red Deal but all the others are Cedar despite them looking nothing like each other.

timbers

Red Deal and Western Red Cedar have quite different characteristics.

Western Red Cedar has long been used for construction where timber is likely to come up against the elements. It has natural oils that resist insect attack and protect it from the worst the weather can throw at it. It’s also very light. This is a big advantage when one considers the weight a beekeeper has to lug around in a super full of honey. The reason it’s light is that it has a kind of honeycomb structure in the wood (i.e. lots of air pockets) which adds to it’s usefulness too in beekeeping in that it’s a good insulator keeping the precious bees warm in the winter.

Red Deal’s main advantage is price. It’s certainly cheaper and if you don’t mind the extra weight it’s perfectly good as a timber in National Hive production. It can also last a very long time IF looked after. Looking round town houses in neighbouring Buxton it’s remarkable how many still have front doors that were constructed in Victorian times. What’s made them last so long? Paint!

A 14×12 and a Nucleus

admin — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:53:01 +0000

Two orders made up today. One 14×12 National with 2 Supers and a Nucleus Hive. None of this is new but we’re proud of making our products out of locally sourced materials and both of these are constructed from Peak District Western Red Cedar.

National 14x12 In Cedar

Standard Nucleus Hive In Cedar

14×12 Top Bee Space National Hive in Cedar

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:24:21 +0000

Here’s a 14×12 top bee space National Hive in Cedar. It’s for an order but I shall also be moving my bees onto 14×12 top bee space in the coming season. I’ve just about managed OK this year with the ‘brood and a half’ I got the bees on but I have to agree with Ted Hooper that a single brood chamber has to be better (easier) to manage and any help in making the transition from beekeeping novice to beekeeper is more than welcome!

14x12 Top Bee Space National

This hive has been constructed using a mix of bought in and locally sourced Peak District Cedar.

Peak Hives Delivery!

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:04:55 +0000

Having retired the family car last year in October and managed (with great difficulty) borrowing my parents car in the meantime I decided it was time to look round for a vehicle that would do the family runs and also help out with delivering National Hive orders in the locality when necessary. By chance we came across a real bargain and here’s the first batch of flat pack and assembled Peak Hives National Hive parts out for delivery this morning. The Berlingo is already a success with the children and it’s a fantastic addition to the business too. The next step is to add a towbar so that I can pick up and move about the locally sourced cedar that Dave and Adele at the National Park authority very kindly send my way when they can.

Peak Hives Berlingo

Jim at Hotline signs is doing me some Peak Hives window graphics, can’t wait to see them. I would have liked to have continued living without a vehicle but it’s just not possible where we live. If I did then I’d be giving myself a major headache and putting both family and business under too much strain.

Air Drying Chatsworth Western Red Cedar

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:35:22 +0000

Whilst the locally sourced timber is sticked and stacked in the now nice and dry spring weather I’ve been conducting a little experiment in timber drying. I cut a piece of the Chatsworth Cedar to the dimensions of a National Hive top or bottom rail and I’ve been taking photos of how it’s gone on weight wise inside a centrally heated house…the difference is dramatic to say the least. From a whopping 372 grammes and feeling like a truncheon it’s now a mere 145 grammes and feeling like a piece of balsa wood. It’s incredibly light. Part of the reason why hives are made out of cedar is that it’s light but the reason why it’s light is because there are lots of air pockets in the timber which gives it another potentially useful property. It’s a good insulator. Nice warm bees in nice light and comfy cedar hives…

Drying Western Red Cedar

Every now and again I go to the lumber stack and ‘heft’ a piece of the Chatsworth cedar and I can feel it getting lighter in weight almost day by day.

A National Hive from Peak District Cedar

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:09:58 +0000

Had a busy and tiring day felling two Western Red Cedar trees with tree surgeons Paul and Dan. The trees had to come down anyway as they were about to topple the chimney stack on the house they were next to. Once they were down I sliced them into National Hive sized logs and then as soon as possible it’s down to Simon at Rowsley Sawmill where they’ll be milled into 2″ boards ready for air drying this summer.

Peak District Western Red Cedar

Here at Peak Hives we’re very keen to obtain locally sourced materials if at all possible and many thanks to Dave for giving the heads up on the trees and to Paul and Dan for letting me come along on the day. Can’t wait to get one of Peak Hives National Beehives made up out of Peak District Cedar.

More locally sourced Western Red Cedar

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:17:40 +0000

Local tree surgeon Paul has contacted me with regard to a couple of Western Red Cedars that he has to fell. They need to come down anyway as they are threatening the buildings nearby. He’s been very helpful and positive about these trees being used for National Hives rather than just burning them as firewood and is in negotiation with the owners now to see if it’s possible to do a deal on their unwanted trees.

Peak District Western Red Cedar

Many thanks to Paul!

Locally sourced Cedar for National Bee Hives.

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:49:07 +0000

Hi. Dave and Adele at the Peak Park have come up with another Western Red Cedar that is about to be felled. More locally sourced timber for National Hives! I’m very pleased and would like to thank both Dave and Adele for their support for the cottage industry that is Peak Hives. The tree is due to be felled anyway as it’s leaning a bit too close to it’s owner’s conservatory. My opinion is that it’s better used as timber for National Hives than put through one of those awful chipper machines and ending up as garden mulch. I’ll have to arrange milling again into 2″ boards with Simon at Rowsley Sawmill and then it can join the Cedar from Chatsworth that is already sticked and seasoning. It’s not really economically sensible to do this as the time and effort it takes is enormous but there’s definitely a satisfaction in knowing that the timber I’m working came from just down the road rather than the other side of the world.

Here’s a pic.

Locally Sourced Western Red Cedar

National Hives from Chatsworth Cedar

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:32:24 +0000

The first batch of locally sourced Chatsworth Western Red Cedar has been milled up by Simon at Rowsley Sawmill and I’ve just stacked and ‘sticked’ it to air dry. Simon’s milled it into 2″ waney edge boards which I can then machine up into either national hive rails or slice down the middle for hive ends/sides. Kiln drying would be too expensive so we’ll stick it cover it to protect it from the rain and wait…

Air Drying Chatworth Western Red Cedar