How to make an observation hive

In the classic control of bee colonies, it is necessary to stun bees with smoke. The bees, in the presumption of an impending fire, suck in honey and no longer notice that the beekeeper is rummaging in their hive. However, as the bees recover from this panic and begin to bear honey again, a day or two may pass. An observation window is better for a quick check. The name of the observation hive is also derived from this.

So I made an observation window on the extensions. It would be better to work with the board, but to save time I used ready-made uninsulated Langstroth 2/3 extensions. I wanted to make it as simple as possible using only a plunge cutter, a circular saw.

The window must be large enough to look through, but at the same time there must be some edge left so that the construction of the extension is solid. I did not have any specific dimensions. On the cutter, set the distance from the edge using the side bar. We set the depth of the groove using the stop pin, according to the thickness of the glass.

When we have made all the longitudinal grooves, we remove the side bar from the cutter and make the transverse grooves.

In a similar way, we make a groove on the outside of the extension. This connects the grooves and we get a window.

It is good to underlay the inner material of the window, otherwise it will remain hanging in the air after milling.

After milling the inner material, we get a window opening with recessed edges.

We will cut the board, which will serve as a shutter for closing the window.

Make an indentation on the shutter. A milling table would be useful here, but I just did it in a vice.

Round the edges of the shutter and grind the edges.

The shutter should fit into the opening of the window, but with a clearance of a few millimeters, because when the wood swells under the influence of moisture, the shutter will not be able to open.