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Langstroth hive builder

Cut list for Langstroth beehive boxes, bottom board and covers

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Langstroth hive builder with its default settings

Screenshot of the tool as it opens; it is a real capture, not a mockup.

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What is it?

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What it makes

A complete parts and cut list for Langstroth hive woodenware: the long sides and frame-rest-rabbeted end boards for however many deep, medium and shallow boxes you need, plus a bottom board, inner cover and telescoping outer cover, each broken into its own boards and panels with lengths, widths and thicknesses. A board-feet estimate covers the solid lumber and a sheet count covers the plywood panels.

How to use it

  1. Start from a quick start (10-frame all-medium, 10-frame traditional deep-and-shallow, 8-frame all-medium, or an 8-frame starter set) or set your own box counts.
  2. Pick 8- or 10-frame width and enter your actual stock thickness — nominal 3/4" lumber usually measures closer to 13/16" actual.
  3. Choose corner joinery (butt, corner rabbet or box joint), then measure your stock's actual thickness and enter it — the frame-rest rabbet width follows from it, and you can set the rabbet depth separately.
  4. Set how many deep, medium and shallow boxes to build, and how many bottom boards, inner covers and outer covers.
  5. Read the warnings for anything that won't fit, then download the cut-list PDF, or the Markdown, SVG or DXF versions.

Build notes

  • Outside box dimensions, depths, the frame-rest rabbet and bee space follow the dimensions published by major US beekeeping-supply catalogs and university extension beekeeping guides; inside dimensions follow from those plus your stock thickness.
  • Frames are out of scope — this tool only builds the boxes and woodenware around them.
  • The SVG and DXF exports show each distinct board shape once, not a nested sheet layout; works fully offline once opened.