Long Hives, Buy or Build?

[Country Heart]

Are there places that sell Long Hives?  Or are they something that you have to build yourself? 

[evilbee]

there are a few suppliers of htb's a google search should provide you with a list

i personally make my own ( or get my woodshop to make them)

some of the commercially available ones look a little fragile for long term use

unless the wood (lumber) is at least 3/4 inch thick i would not buy

loads of plans available across the internet

and best of all using a tbh is the joy of knowing you don't need about a garage to store all the extras

[caticind]

I don't know of anyone selling long hives in your area.  You might look to someone who builds top-bar hives and ask if they'll make you a "Tanzanian" top bar hive with a rabbet (i.e a long hive!)

But of all the hives short of the barrel tbh, I think a long hive would be simplest to build yourself and maybe worth a try.

Make sure you figure out the dimensions in advance so that your chosen frame size will fit, with bee space on all sides.  I also recommend making the length a convenient multiple of the width of migratory tops.  This way if you are inclined to buy rather than build, you can purchase everything but the box itself.  A rectangular box is within most people's ability to build even if you don't have much experience.

[Country Heart]

Wow.  Did some internet surfing since my original post.  There certainly seems to be a wide variety of very interesting long hive designs.  I think I will stick with my original plan and learn on the Lang and make the long hive my second round.  That gives me plenty of time to check out various designs and even build it myself.