As a new subscriber to the American Bee Journal, I'm constantly flooded with advertisements from product vendors.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see what products are out there, but as a reader (and new beekeeper) I often get the feeling that there is no way to acquire new woodenware than to purchase it from a vendor.

There's so much talk about "bee space", type of wood to use, types of handles (cutouts) on the hives, dimensions, etc., that the advertisers are almost telling us "you'll never build a hive correctly, so you better buy one from us".

Have you seen the prices for hive bodies lately? I've seen ads for a single deep hive body (with shipping cost) as high as $25 each.

We're talking about 4 pieces of wood!

I'm fairly handy with a table saw, so I'm leaning towards building my own hives.  I've found several Langstroth Hive plans online, and will have all fall/winter to create my hives and supers.

I've also found plans to make frames, even though those are fairly cheap, I might try to make those too.

Have you made your own hive?
Was it difficult?
Any issues with the bees not "taking to" your homemade hive?

When I actually begin the building process I'll post the plans, my experiences, and pictures.

Chris