The workhorse(s) of a hive are the hive bodies. They come in deep and shallow sizes. Typically, the deep sections are used for brood rearing and base honey and pollen storage. The shallower hive bodies are typically used for honey to be harvested. The main difference between bodies is simply the vertical dimension. The footprints are identical.
A finished hive body looks like this:
Notice that most commercial bodies use dado’s at the corners, which are very strong. I route a 3/8″ x 3/8″ groove on each edge and then fit the narrow side into the long side. As usual, I glue and nail with a nail gun. I’ve had several hive bodies in use for a 18 months now and they seem strong and work fine. If you have a dado setup, that’s going to be faster to cut and put together for sure. Either way…..
The short sides have an extra 5/8″ route along their top edges. This is where the frames sit/hang.
A medium hive body (honey super), is exactly the same, except it’s 6 5/8″ tall vs. 9 5/8″ tall.
