Dr. Bodgit does DIY for Beekeepers
Oxfordshire Beekeepers’ first Zoom winter talk of 2023-24 on 3rd November 2023 and was David Evans talking on the topic ‘Measure twice, cut once, swear often – Dr Bodgit does DIY for beekeeping’.
So who is Dr. Bodgit? Well as this slide from his presentation told us
As you can guess from the above, David’s talk to Oxfordshire Beekeepers was an entertaining, informative and light hearted talk on all things hive construction.
David’s talk was also very practical. He stressed that it was not about what could be made but what you, and I, as individuals, could make…
- with few specialist tools
- with relatively little experience
- that cannot be bought easily or cheaply
- that is better than sold by Thorne’s etc.
- is going to be useful
- and can be made safely
Thus he suggested that trying to make a queen excluder was not a good idea as a DIY project as the tolerances were quite specific and certainly beyond his skill level.
Equally there are many items that the average beekeeper / DIY’er could make, for example hives and hive parts (floors, crownboards, roofs), clearer boards , nucs and extraction-related equipment such as a honey warming cabinet.
On the left of a Morris Board, used in queen rearing. It cost David £8.25; a commercial Morris Board is £40!
David kindly allowed us to record his talk and the video is now available to members on the OBKA website. It’s well worth watching, just point your browser at
You will need to enter the password for the Member’s area to view the video; if you can’t remember it email the Membership secretary who will give you the password once having verified your membership.
All images copyright David Evans (theapiarist.org)