peak-hives.co.uk » workshop

Too busy to post!!!

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:56:20 +0000

No updates recently as I’m flat out in the workshop making up orders…will put a posting on here in the next few days when time permits…

Varroa Floor Improvement

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:11:06 +0000

From now on the slide out trays used for Varroa inspections on Peak Hives Open Mesh Floors will be made from 4mm Yellow Correx rather than the 5mm ply previously used. This change applies to full National size Varroa Floors and our Nucleus Hive Varroa Floor.

Open Mesh Floor Improvement

At Peak Hives we take suggestions/requests from our customers seriously. Generally speaking I’d say that if a customer suggests an improvement it doesn’t always register as I’m so busy working on orders that product modification isn’t foremost in my mind but if it’s asked for again then I try to stop what I’m doing and give the matter some serious consideration and come to a decision.

The main reason for this change to Yellow Correx slide out trays is better visibility as compared to the ply trays I previously manufactured. It is much easier to spot a Varroa Mite against the Yellow Correx background than against the purpleish coloured ply.

Of course if you’re a previous Peak Hives customer and would like a Yellow Correx slide out tray then just get in touch and we can sort you out with a new tray at cost.

Product Improvement – Cedar Staining

admin — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:53:41 +0000

Cedar is a superior timber for making hives partly because it has natural chemical constituents that protect it from insect and fungal attack. These chemicals can cause a side effect though in that they can react with the iron content of standard nails and cause staining if the wood is wet. I’ve been wetting the wood in picture every day for a couple of weeks and you can see the stain from the standard steel nail starting to spread. Of course this doesn’t occur if the hive is protected with paint or Danish/Linseed Oil but some prefer to leave their woodwork untreated to age and weather naturally.

On the left you can see the stained standard nail. On the right you can see no staining around the galvanized nail fixed in place by my new Air Nailer.

Cedar Test Piece

Here’s the old technology compared with the new. Hammer vs Air Nailer. Won’t be throwing the hammer away just yet but the Nailer certainly speeds up hive assembly leaves a neater finish and, using galvanized nails, gets rid of the staining issue. Peak Hives assembled National Hives will from now on be constructed using the newer method.

Hammer vs Nailer

The ‘art’ of hive making

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:54:48 +0000

Arvind Mistry visited the workshop last week. He’s a friend and a professional photographer and had been asked to do a ‘shoot’ of a production environment. I was happy to oblige and here’s a PDF of some of the shots he took.

I was more than a tad worried that the sawdust and particles in the workshop would damage his very expensive gear but he didn’t seem in the least bothered so I cracked on making up a 14×12 brood box whilst he snapped away. He (and pricey cameras) got covered in shavings and dust but some nice piccys came out of it I think.

–> Here’s the link.

Thanks to Arv.

All Season Workshop!

admin — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:07:37 +0000

New for this winter is a workshop you can work in!!! Last winter’s cold snap that lasted quite a lot longer than one would think a ‘snap’ would last more or less closed Peak Hives down while the temperatures dropped far far below ‘glue setting point’. It was also physically very draining to be in there for any length of time.

So I’ve stumped up for some Kingspan and insulated the most exposed bits. It’s already a big improvement and the rest will be insulated over the coming weeks. As testament to it’s new found cosiness here’s a picture of the lastest National Hive to emerge from the new warm and snug work environment…

Bit of an odd angled view but it’s a large 14×12 National Hive in Cedar with Stand, 3 Supers and a Gabled Roof and it’s the only way I could get it all in shot.

14x12 National

National Nucleus Hive Stands.

admin — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:37:33 +0000

I’ve had a few requests for stands for our Nucleus Hives so they are a new Peak Hives product which can now be found in the left hand column under the Standard Nuc Hives and the 14×12 Nucs. The PH Nuc hives do look good when sat on one. They are (as are the Nucleus Hives) 221mm wide by the National Hive standard depth of 460mm.

Nucleus Hive Stand

Autumn?

admin — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:43:43 +0000

I’ve not quite forgotten how to post articles onto the Peak Hives website but it has been a while…

There’s more than a couple of reasons why it’s been so quiet on here but one major reason is while we were away on hols the camera got dropped into the sea! Digital cameras and salt water don’t mix it seems and no matter how much drying time I give it it refuses to take another piccy. Took receipt the other day of a new camera and can finally take some shots to put onto the site again…One of the other reason it’s been so quiet is I’m spending as much time as possible in the workshop to make up orders.

Off the top of my head this weeks production has included…around 50 flat pack national supers, 25 flat pack national brood boxes, a dozen or so of broods and supers assembled, several Varroa Open Mesh Floors, two standard floors (yes there are still experienced beekeepers who use them), around 14 4″ roofs, 1 complete 14×12 hive in cedar and an accompanying nucleus hive (pictured) and a few ashforth feeders…phew. There’s lots more to make up though and we certainly do thank our customers for their patience.

14x12 hive and 14x12 nuc

Up here in the Peak the season’s well and truly over as regards the buzzers…they’re settling in for winter. Started with 2 colonies and looks like we’ll end with 2. Now to see how they fair in the Peak District winter…

Think I’ll give them a little help with some cut up Kingspan.

Branding and Calendar Widget

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:22:25 +0000

A quick note before I head for the Cedar…news of some planned product improvements and workflow/customer service.

First of all I’m having a branding iron made for Peak Hives. It will allow me to brand all Peak Hives assembled products both inside and out with a unique serial number should the client request it. There’s been quite a few hive thefts in Derbyshire (see latest Beecraft) and as bees and hives come to the fore and increase more and more in value I think putting an indelible unique identifier on each hive is a good idea. The serial number will be the customers ‘PHXXXXXX’ order number which is unique to each customer and it can be burned into the timber as the hive is assembled so I can do it both inside and out in places that would make removal very difficult indeed whilst not affecting detrimentally the look of the hive.

Following on from that I’ve decided to implement a calendar widget on the Peak Hives web page where customers can check where their order is in the queue. We are a cottage industry striving for sustainability and mass production isn’t what Peak Hives is about. But we are a business and keeping customers happy is core to any business. The idea is that for every order received there will be a ‘PHXXXXXX’ serial number generated which would be sent to the customer. This would then be placed on a frequently updated calendar visible on the main page. The customer could then easily check where their order was in the queue and have peace of mind as to when it would be finished and despatched. There’s a bit of programming to do on the page so it won’t be done until this current busy period is over but it should be a helpful improvement in future.

Finally, I always like to put up some visuals so here’s a piccy of a couple of National Hives that recently left the workshop…

Standard National Hives from Peak Hives

One BIG Order!

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:52:09 +0000

After dedicating myself to getting up at 5am and finishing in the workshop at 11pm for the last week I’ve finally finished Matthew’s 23 fully assembled Cedar National Hives. That’s 23 National Hive Stands, 23 Varroa Floors, 23 National Brood Boxes, 46 National Supers, 23 Framed and Wired Queen Excluders, 23 Crown Boards with Porter Bee Escapes, 23 National Hive Gabled Roofs and a partridge in a pear tree.

Here’s a piccy of Matthew (and Alexandra, one of mine) who runs Honey Bees At Home just about cramming it all in to a long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter Van. Many thanks to Matthew and all the best with Honey Bees At Home!

I am well and truly knackered but will be making up orders again tomorrow first thing…it’s a good job I love my workshop.

23 Assembled Hives!

Peak Hives Has Moved.

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 07:49:21 +0000

Into the house next to the workshop!

Partly due to workloads and also the need for a better place for my own brood we decided to move into the house next to the workshop. Peak Hives customers will be pleased to hear that this allows me to get into work at around 6am and leave around 10pm…has to be done but I’m not sure how long I can keep it up. I’m currently awaiting a broadband connection which is due on the 10th of June. One that’s in then my plan is to install a Peak Hives Workshop Webcam so that clients can see their National Hive being machined and assembled. The move will also allow me to develop new National Hive related products when I have a bit of spare time…watch this space. First on the list is going to be Ashforth feeders for both full sized hives and nucleus hives as my own recent experience suggests that the contact feeders are rubbish.

Working from Home