Beekeeping tools

Cool! I bought a beekeeping DVD last month, but haven't built any boxes yet. I, too, instantly thought the pry tool would be something I'd really like to have. There are hundreds of vids on YouTube about beekeeping and hive removal; some are lots of fun to watch. There's a vendor on eBay which sells a beekeeping kit for $47, with uncapping fork, hive tool, smoker, and bee brush. XL bee suits go for $24.

I figured I could start my hives by removing one from someone's house.

.120? Absolutely. I think I'd prefer a stainless or spring steel over HR, but if you already have some, go for it. I think a long taper, maybe 1.5" worth, on the scraper end would be nice. I've ground most of my pry bars to a long taper and they work much better for me. They're easier to insert and it's easier to get a controlled amount of opening with the gentler wedge.

I've been using a friend's plasma cutter and they're so generationally better than the old o/a rigs, it's not funny. Plasma's great. Will you be sharing the mods?

I didn't see much about "Bee Brushes", tell me what would be best.

I used my fingers ... but then these bees were really docile . I have a brush , but haven't used it - yet. One thing the guy that taught our class said is never ever use an animal hair brush , pisses the bees off . Larry - the mod I'm considering is to bend the other end of a J-hook tool like the L tool . No sharp edge on the end makes it easier to push the tool between frames , and you can still sharpen the edge for scraping if you want . Probably won't put a nail slot in it either , my other tool has one ...

Golden Taklon (sorry, metal-free) works very well to shoo the wee beasties out of the way when you're working on their homes.

OK. I see how those mods could be useful.