March 10, 2015…Here’s the roughing out of the faces for the Grand Kid Log hive.
Images of grand kids for Brian Vorwaller, the wood carver.
March 16…The sun came out so I was able to get some time outside. The pencil lines line up with the top bars on the top of the log hive.
This shows the first few cuts in the quilt box. I’m using an electric chain saw plugged into my solar system with canola oil to lubricate the chain. (I don’t want any hydrocarbons in my hive)
This was so easy I made a bunch of cuts…
…and then pushed them out.
Then I enlarged it outwards towards the pencil line.
I cleaned up the insides with the “Sa-burr” wheel on a handheld grinder.
The #8 screen will hold the quilt and the sawdust at the top of the hive. This will enable the bees to regulate the temperature and ventilation of the hive by plugging up or eating through sections of the cloth.
I took a photo of this old ‘quilt’ taken from a Warré hive. You can see where the bees have chewed spaces (I assume) for ventilation into the box above that’s full of sawdust to hold the hive scent. The upper box has another ‘quilt’ to keep the sawdust from falling into the interior of the hive.
I’ll take the quilt box to the wood carver so he can shape up the structure on top of it. I think he’s going to carve a type of birdhouse top that will shed water.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
Amazing! Is the carving done with chainsaw and then chisels? The detail up close is so fine.
I’m not sure if he’s using a chainsaw on the faces at all. He’s been using a funny little hand held belt sander. The belt is about 1/2″ wide (1cm), but he might have used the chainsaw for the rough cutting.
Fabulous work, I like how happy the tree faces are.
Thanks, Emily. I got to see the faces again yesterday when I delivered the quilt box to him. He’s got the hair carved in and since he removed a bunch of wood, the faces stick out a little more. Hmmm, maybe I should post another update.
Marvelous! Can’t wait to see the finished hive!
Actually, it might be sooner than later. He wanted to have it done in a week and as yet, I’m not ready for it.
This is truly an artisans work. Both you and Eddie the woodcarver love wood I think. I hope the bees who choose it as their home stay a long time and keep healthy. You are on a good track I think.
I love seeing the process! Your carver does amazing work!
Yes, he’s very talented. I’ll be posting some more photos and a little video of him talking about what he’s done so far. I wanted to get the quilt box to him so he could figure out how to top it off. When I asked what he had in mind, he was vague, he wasn’t sure yet, so I guess it’ll be a surprise!
The carved log is coming on well. Your own log does not look easy to cut … but if you say so. I would never have imaged the bees capable of regulating their ventilation. Did I understand correctly that they will block up the screen if it is cold and open it up again if it is warm? Amelia
When you let the bees build their own comb (I don’t use any wax foundation or heaven forbid any plastic foundation) they are free to decide where to put holes in the comb for whatever purpose they want, be it ventilation or for just crawling through the comb.
I added a photo above to show the quilt from an old Warré hive. Bees can regulate the temperature of the hive by fanning their wings at the entrance. From what I understand, they have to keep the brood at temps between 93˙F to 97˙F (34˙C to 36˙C). Also they have to reduce the water content of the nectar.