Langstroth box cut list

For 10-frame boxes built from your own boards: the pieces to cut, and how many boards of the size you have it takes.

Boxes

Outside size 20 × 16 5/8 in (Perennia factsheet, approx.)20 × 16 1/2 in (BC Ministry plan)My own size (measure a box I have) Plans and suppliers differ by a fraction of an inch. If you already have boxes or covers, measure one and use your own size.

Type fractions with a space and a slash (10 1/4) or as decimals (10.25).

The outside size and the box heights below come from different plans; pick the ones that match your equipment.

How many of each box (the 10 deeps are only an example):

Deep 9 5/8 in boxesPerenniaDeep 9 1/2 in boxesBC Ministry plan; USDA AH 335Medium 6 5/8 in boxesBC Ministry, PerenniaShallow 5 3/4 in boxesPerenniaShallow 5 13/16 in boxesBC Ministry plan Corner joint Butt joint, nailed and glued Corner rabbet Finger (box) joint Finished wall thickness, in3/4 in the BC plan

Your boards

Usable width, inwhat is left after the edges are straightened, e.g. 10 1/4 Length, ine.g. 8 ft = 96, 11 ft = 132, 12 ft = 144 Saw kerf, ine.g. 1/8

How the pieces are worked out

• The two ends (the short walls the frames hang from) run the full outside width.
• The two sides: with finger joints they run the full outside length. With corner rabbets each side stops at the rabbet's shoulder, the wall thickness minus the rabbet depth in from the outside of the corner, so it is shorter by twice that. With butt joints it is shorter by twice the wall. This is arithmetic. As a check: the BC plan prints a 19 1/4 in side board; its ends appear to overlap the sides by 3/8 in at each corner (our reading of its drawing), and the corner rabbet option at 3/8 on the BC size gives that same 19 1/4 in.
• Board count: pieces are laid end to end along each board, longest first, with a saw kerf between cuts, one piece across the width. Walls taller than your board are counted as glued-up strips. It is an estimate; knots and checks you cut around come on top.

The frame rest rabbet

Every end needs a rabbet along its top inside edge for the frames to rest on. The BC Ministry plan gives 5/8 × 3/8 in, and its drawing also has a metal frame rest nailed into it. BC prints no figure for how far the frame tops sit below the rim, and the sources disagree on the gap above the frames: BC gives bee space in general as 5/16 in, a 1967 UK government leaflet (MAFF Leaflet 549, reproduced by the Scottish Beekeepers' Association) puts 1/4 in above the frames, the USDA drawing shows 1/4 in, and the University of Arkansas extension guide gives bee space as about 1/4 to 3/8 in. Set the rest depth with a real frame and your supplier's top bar before cutting a batch.

Why box heights differ

A deep frame is 9 1/8 in tall (USDA Agriculture Handbook 335). In a 9 5/8 in box that leaves 1/2 in to share between the bee space above the frames and the clearance below them; a 9 1/2 in box leaves less below. Boxes of different heights still stack, but pick one height and stay with it.

Sources

• BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Beehive Construction (2006): outside size 20 × 16 1/2 in, 3/4 in walls, heights 9 1/2, 6 5/8 and 5 13/16 in, frame rest rabbet, side and end board lengths.
• Perennia, ATTTA factsheet Beehive Basics: The Startup Setup (March 2022): outside size about 20 × 16 5/8 in, heights 9 5/8, 6 5/8 and 5 3/4 in.
• USDA Agriculture Handbook 335, Beekeeping in the United States (1967), Fig. 2: 9 1/2 in deep box, 9 1/8 in deep frame (public domain).
• University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, Basic Beekeeping 2: The Bee Hives: bee space about 1/4 to 3/8 in.
• MAFF Leaflet 549 (UK, 1967), reproduced as Scottish Beekeepers' Association TDS 05: 1/4 in space above the frames (comparison only).

Lengths are rounded to the nearest 1/16 in. Check your first box against frames and covers you trust before cutting the rest.