good one. thanks so much.
Wow Adam, is that rear wall 80mm thick? I also see one of your hives is reddish timber, is that merbau, jarrah?
No that is the over hang on the roof. Iām now using 45mm pine. A friend did make a LL out of 100mm western red cedar, but that is another rabbit hole I havenāt gone down.
I started with laminated merbau and have now used pine. The pine is lighter, better thermal properties and cheaper. There is a guy selling Jarrah LL and TBH on gumtree in Perth.
Yes heās not far from me but only saw the TBH on gumtree. Part of the fun is making it with the kids though. I donāt have a router but I think I wonāt need it.
Pine is the way to go. Still undecided on whether I use Flow frames in it or not.
Thanks for sharing Adam.
Enjoy the process. We used a table saw to make my first one.
So with those pictures of the measurements, do they work for both the traditional frames and the flow frames? Iām just getting started with beekeeping and starting with a long lang. I canāt quite find a full set of plans though to walk me through the full build of a long lang with flow frames at the end.
Yes the rebates work for the flow frames. The trick is in the key access cover. It may not be obvious in the photos but the top step is replaced with aluminium flat par for the covers to sit on. This needs to be just right to ensure bees donāt leak out this spot. Iāve got it close but found the best thing was to fix some 3mm strips on the cover board to stop the leakage.
Adam
So I should be able to go through and make my main box and lid with the proper rabbets and such? Then, I presume, when my flow frames come in, I go through and make the modifications to the box itself to make sure they will work properly?
Yes, have a look at the documents and videos in this FAQ series on modifying existing ānormalā supers. The principle is the same for the long Lang. You stand will need to tilt back to allow the harvest.
Awesome! Thanks so much Adam!
Hi All,
Iāve been meaning to add to this thread for quite some time. Reading about Long Langs with Flow Frames got me really interested given the often noted benefits - i.e. no heavy lifting of boxes, calmer bees and the added bonus of flow frames. I thought this is definitely for me! There didnāt seem to be too many available, so, over the winter months, while the bees were busy keeping warm, I decided to build myself one with zero carpentry skills and not much in the way of precision tools, or tools for that matter. A bit of a heads up right there! So, Adam came to the rescue helping with his dimensions and design and a chippy mate offered to do the major timber cutting.
Getting closer to finishing:
Whilst acknowledging that a carpenter I aināt, I really enjoyed the experience and canāt thank Adam enough for his guidance and patience. The LL was finished and painted and in September a whole FH (8F) brood box was transferred in:
Weāve had an unusually cold and wet spring, which set the bees back somewhat, but I slowly added frames and now there are about 15 or16 frames in the brood section with plenty of room for more. In November the flow frames were added. Itās now early December and the bees are in full swing after a bit of a setback. Looking through the access door at the flow frames, there was a little bit of action:
After yesterdays inspection and looking down on the (flow) frames, I realised theyāre certainly in full swing, just havenāt reached the ends of the flow frames yet.
The earlier setback was an invasion of jumping jack ants (or jack jumpers, depending on where youāre from). As they have done many times before, they moved into the roof cavity, then in this case, down to the unoccupied section of the brood box, and wreaked havoc:
This photo is after squashing them in the unoccupied brood area (dummy board on RHS). The ants are generally more active at night, donāt form trails and once established, will rip out the lavae from the brood area and carry them up to the roof or wherever they nest. They are entirely capable of destroying a colony and Iām very keen (read desperate) to find someone with the same problem. I currently have 3 hives with the same issue and have resorted to vacuuming them up with a hand-held vacuum, then vacuuming up some ant dust to wipe them out. This works for a while until they redouble their efforts and appear again, who knows where.
Having said that, the bees are now thriving and Iām very happy with their progress. The only thing Iām finding is theyāre very defensive. Earlier in my beekeeping journey, āAll Thumbs Beekeepingā seemed the most apt descriptor of my modest enterprise, but now I find the gloves are being shed with most of the hive inspections ā¦ but not with this one. They are the most defensive of all of them. I reckon thereās still a lot of thumbs in play here on my part, but the jumping jacks and the occasional squealing vacuum might mean the calm hive is a little way off.
Iāve had advice just to surround the hive in ant dust (pyrethrum-based) and lose a few bees in the process. I now think it might be the only way as nothing else has worked (with my configuration). Grease is a pushover for them as are cups/moats - theyāre called jumpers for a reason.
Back on topic! The hive has been ant-free for 2-3 weeks and is absolutely thriving - the honey flow is on. The outer frames are sooo heavy with honey and there are now huge numbers of bees in the flow frames 
so Iām very excited! I think the 45mm walls will also make winter (at least in Aust) a non-issue for the bees. Again, a massive shout-out to Adam for all his help.
Progress and harvest 
updates to follow
Good to see the results you are getting.
Re ants Iāve done what you have when they where a huge problem I got some Ant Rid and dropped into the ant nest hole. Took a while but finally got them uncontrol. Glad we donāt have jumping ants
Looks great. Where did you find the QE? Did you have a preset slope in-hive for the flow frames or do you tilt the whole hive? Asking because I want to make one myself.
Thanks, Adam. I hope to get to that point at some stage. I found a nest last year and did just that, but they either made a new entrance or itās a different nest(s). Itās made difficult as they donāt form trails and the most action you see is at night with a red torch, I lose them as soon as they hit the grass.
They have me stumped, but if I dig in every direction for about 70 metres, Iāll eventually come across them 
Thanks, Karby. The QE was cut down from an 8 frame size. There is no pre-set slope. I meant to put a length of timber along the stand to tilt it, but completely forgot. I need to get it in soon before it cant be lifted at all.
On one of my stands that I forgot to slope too I use a car jack to lift it the 19mm or 3/4" for harvesting. Much better to get the frame set right the first time.
Bec with the ants I also put ant rid in a jar with a lid with 2mm holes drilled in it. I then put it on the ground or on a cover board on its side. The ants can get in and take the ant rid back to their nest but the bees canāt access. I normally try to use baby jars.
Can you set a slope in the hive for the flow frames so that they are always at an angle? Or would it be better to angle the whole hive during harvest?
I like your thinking with the car jack!
I had contemplated tilting it with the tractor on cushioned forks, but itās way too delicate an operation.
If two of us cant lift it pretty soon, with a third needed to slot in the strip of timber, Iāll bring in the car jack for harvest.
As far as the ant jar is concerned, I set up a jar with water, sugar and borax. It wasnāt hugely successful. Iāve also tried borax with wet dog food and borax with coconut oil. Neither worked.
Iāll try ant rid as a substitute. Itāll definitely work with at the very least with the smaller ants.
I think 2mm will be too small for the jumping jacks. They are pretty big but can access places bees canāt by flattening out. Is there a larger hole size that bees definitely canāt pass through? Pic of the JJ ant below with a Euro wasp, for rough size indication.
Thanks again
Geez glad I donāt have those critters. You can go as big as the bottom screen mess. I just canāt remember if that is 2.5 or 3mm