Hive Body Assembly Video

First video ... demonstrating how to put together a hive body.   This is a fun and easy project and can save you a bit of money, particularly if you plan on having your equipment shipped.    In this video I am putting together a deep body from HT Krantz.   

Hive Bodies

Ok, so I picked up my HT Krantz hive bodies.   The pick-up was a little strange.  I expected to meet a person at a workshop or warehouse, but instead was given a residential address in downtown Frederick.    The house was emblazoned with Ron Paul signs and the equipment was simply stacked on the front porch.   No on present, no note, just an invoice sticking out between some of the wood.    Strange.

In any event I was still excited about getting the equipment and everything looks pretty good.   The wood is about what you expect for select grade pine.   It was all pretty well free of knots.  

HT Krantz Select Grade Deep Hive Body

The hand-holds are well designed, being longer than I have seen on most and the top cut slightly back to allow for better grip.   There was a little tear-out on some of the hand-holds, perhaps from running them too quickly.

Hand-hold Tear Out

But overall I think they looked OK.   I don't have anything to compare against, but I would have thought significant tear-outs like the one above would be culled for the commercial grade.   What's been your experience for select grade from other manufactures?  Please comment!

One other note ... Krantz includes no instructions with the wooden ware.   I have seen comments to this effect on the forums so was expecting this.    There really isn't much to putting these things together, but at least one poster did not realize the finger joints would be so tight and went on to shave them down smaller when he should have simply used a rubber mallet to pound them together.    Chris responded to this and posted a video to his website that explains this, but if you hadn't seen the post or the video you might find yourself in a similar state of confusion.    It would be helpful to include a simple sheet explaining this, as well as recommendations on gluing, squaring, and nail sizes.     The pieces are not pre-drilled, by the way. I know some manufactures do pre-drill ... Krantz does not.   This is actually my preference as I will be using a compressed air nail gun ... but something to be aware of if you are going to hand nail.

I've built two of the boxes and will post a video of another soon.

Deep Hive Body, Glued and Clamped

HKrantz and Communication

I'm a little disappointed with HT Krantz.    Anyone can tell you that one of the keys to good customer service is good communication.   While placing my order for hive equipment (4xDeep Bodies, 4xMedium Bodies, Telescoping Covers, Inner Covers, and Screened Bottoms)  I chose the option for local pickup, which indicated you'll receive an email with date/time/location for pickup.    After letting a week go by, I sent an email requesting an update to set expectations.   I got a very prompt reply from Chris Krantz letting me know that the equipment would be ready the early part of that week.    But another week went by and I heard nothing so I followed up again.   This time letting Chris know that I was concerned with the lack of follow-up communication and even offering that I didn't mind a delay as long as expectations are set ... if I have a date I can plan for then I'm happy.   But to be told it would be ready and hear nothing was disappointing.  I request a date/time/location for pickup.

Chris responded with exactly that, a date/time/location and nothing more.   No offer of explanation, no apology, no attempt to allay my concerns about communication despite also having an order for a NUC and a package outstanding.   This is something I also pointed out as in placing that order, I was advised upon checkout that I would need to sign some sort of agreement (which would be emailed) or my order would be cancelled.   The agreement was never sent, and when I inquired about it I was told by Chris that they "would be sending them out at once soon".    That was Feb 27, on an order placed Jan 27th.  It's now March 17th and I still haven't received that email.  

My point isn't really to bash Krantz.   I still think he has one of the cleanest and well organized web sites of any of the major suppliers (really Mann Lake, the best you can do is recreate your print catalog?).   The prices they have are good, product selection good, and it sounds like he's working hard to provide a great product.   And I know this is a busy time of year for them ... but there is a definite opportunity for improvement here!

So will I continue to do business with Krantz?   I'm not sure, to be honest.  I really like to support the local guy, but I also really like good customer service.    Chris was very quick to respond to emails and I've seen his responses on some of the forums and have always thought they were fair to on point.   But he's got to figure out how to get good front-office communication to customers.   I'm sure I will eventually give him another chance, but in the meantime, I will be taking a few additional orders (frames, tools, etc.) elsewhere to see how some of the other competitors line up.

Hive Bodies

The hive bodies are the wooden boxes that make up the bulk of the standard beehive.   They come in a few sizes:  Deep, Medium, and Shallow.   As the names suggest, the difference in size is only the height of the box.    Traditionally, the Deeps are used for brood (where the queen lays eggs and the larvae are raised and emerge as bees) while the Mediums and Shallows are used for honey.    Honey is heavy, thus the reason for using shallower boxes, they're simply easier to maneuver.     Among some beekeepers, using all Mediums is gaining favor as it allows a bit more flexibility in interchanging of the boxes and frames (the wood pieces that hold the comb).   Rather than the typical 2 deeps boxes for brood, they use 3 mediums.  

I've considered the options a bit and in the end have opted to stick with tradition, using deeps for my brood chamber and mediums for honey.    I don't find the arguments in favor of all mediums hugely compelling.   I am accepting that I may change my opinion over time, but for now I want to establish a baseline formulated mostly on traditional practice.    Instead of jumping on the trend of the moment, this will allow me to establish a baseline from which to compare.

For much the same reason, I am sticking with the traditional 10 frame boxes.    Some are moving towards 8 frames, again this seems to be based largely on maneuverability of the hives.    I am not planning to manage but a few so I'm really just not terribly concerned about the weights yet.   

Now, all of this decided, the next major decision was from where to purchase the bodies.   I definitely plan to assemble myself as there really isn't too much to do and I think it will be a fun project.   My 10 year old son as been showing a surprising interest in beekeeping, so I plan to get him a suit and involve to as much an extent as he wishes, including helping to build the beehives.

So, while I did some comparison shopping, I started with a bias towards H.T. Krantz simply because they are local.      But they also turned out to be one of the least expensive.  Here is a comparison for a single Deep body, select wood, and shipping:

Supplier	Cost	Shipping
H.T. Krantz	12.25	None*
Brushy Mountain	17.25	15.31
Dadant	17.95	14.98
Mann Lake	19.25	16.69

Krantz has no shipping simply because they are local to me so I can pick up the equipment once it is ready.    That said, some of these others, notably Mann Lake, offer free shipping on larger orders (over $100) so they are certainly worth comparing if you must ship.