I’m finally ready to assemble my Flow Hive and I’m starting with the base. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t glue each joint? I have a Flow Hive 2 Cedar-7.
Last summer I built a shed down at the bottom of my slope, and this is the first time I’ve used the workbench for a real project! My music’s going, got some wine, and I’m into the groove…
Also, I want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to the Honey Flow team, because this is such a beautifully put-together package. Every detail from the cool printed sheets of packing paper to the way each piece is labeled and documented. It’s really a class act, and that doesn’t just happen.
I work for the biggest name in the e-commerce software industry where customer experience is what it’s all about, and I give Honey Flow an A++.
I agree with the Titebond, if you are going to glue it. Personally I don’t, because I like to be able to disassemble and repair if needed. Having said that, I haven’t repaired any Flow hives in 5 years - they haven’t needed it.
Thanks, Eva! It’s a kit from Outdoor Living Today. HomeDepot also carries them. It really transformed the bottom of my property which had been kind of a wasteland. Now with the shed and the bees, it’s a beautiful place to hang out!
Here’s one more view. It’s underneath a weeping olive tree that’s full of bird nests. There’s a dove that likes to sit on the rooftop like a decoration.
Especially the roof - the assembly tip of putting the roof together over the inner cover and the super is key to avoiding the relatively common, “my roof won’t fit” problem!
What a piece of feedback, thank you very much from the entire Flow Team. I will certainly share this one around. I know a lot of time and effort went into the customer journey for the Flow Hive, it’s lovely to receive positive feedback afterward.
Your ‘shed’ looks truly beautiful along with your backyard, it will make your Flow Hive glow even more. Perhaps you could start considering what magazines you can welcome for a photoshoot. It’s very inspiring.
I notice and admire your lovely herb and flower garden too, I can see amaranth, nasturtium, alyssum, sunflower and citrus. All so beneficial for your bees (and you)
OK, I should have reread this post with all your good advice before I jumped in.
I finally finished assembling and sealing my Flow Hive, and learned a few things the hard way.
I bought 4 corner clamps and they worked really well for the brood boxes. For various reasons they didn’t really work well for the super. Because of the plastic strips, I couldn’t use my triangle to check the corner angles. So did I use the inner-cover as a guide as recommended? No, I just eyeballed it, glued it, and screwed it – or rather, screwed up!
So when I went to stack it all up, the inner cover and roof didn’t fit the super, although they fit the brood boxes fine. So I removed all the screws and started pounding on it with my mallet, hoping to break the glue rather than the wood. What a relief when it all fell apart!
So this time, I put in a few screws to hold it together (without glue) and then screwed the rest together on the Flow Hive, with the inner-cover and roof in place. It seems to be a pretty tight fit, but it’s square!
I also discovered Odie’s Oil, which is a food-safe wood finish that seals in one coat and leaves the wood with a beautiful silky texture. It’s expensive, but you can do an entire Flow Hive with about 2/3 a jar. Love the name - - Odysseus Cornwall.