A busy busy couple of days

The weather is getting better all the time and I decided it was a good time to shake off the winter blues and get on with some real work.

I would point out that these jobs do need to be done and I admit I have not yet packed my swarm box kit so still have not written about it.... soon I promise!

We are heading towards the beginning of the season and I need to hit the ground running.

The first job was to clean up and boxes that were in need of it.... cleanliness is next to godliness!

First up were some poly bits... washing up liquid, warm water and a scrubbing brush inside and out... rinse with a hose, air dry and repaint with masonry paint or acrylic.. More on this later... I am going to try a spray gun this year.... and if I am worried about any possibility of disease, I spray the inside with bleach, then wash well.

Dirty

Clean and ready for painting

Wooden boxes, I power wash the outsides every other year, air dry, but every year I flame the inside with a big gas torch until the wood looks toasted, the wax and propolis will boil and anything not wanted will be incinerated.... yes it is a big gas burner! You can use an electric paint stripper as well.

Finally a good coat of boiled linseed oil, it dries faster than the raw.

The big job of the day was a trip to the wood yard and came back with 50m of 2 by 1 inch wood ,that I cut up in to identical lengths, drilled a couple of holes and have started to make ekes that will eventually be part of my clearer boards....

I was lucky that my power saw has a stop on it so once set I could cut and cut and cut without having to measure anything! I have also made up a jig so I can assemble the ekes with ease! anything for a simple life!

Cutting to size

Just a few bits of wood...

The pre-set stop so I did not have to measure every piece.

Drilling the 2 holes in each side

Simple lap fixing

25 done...Time to put my feet up for the evening !

Happy Bee Keeping!