Cut Comb Foundation

Cut comb foundation is made from the same choice wax as the thin super but it is manufactured slightly heavier than thin super and is preferred by both beginners and commercial beekeepers producing comb honey in shallow frames because it will stand more abuse and is easier to handle.

Wiring Thin Super And Cut Comb Foundation

Most beekeepers do not wire these two kinds of foundation into their frames. The beginners and small beekeepers generally use the heavy top bar shallow frames with the wedge so that they can nail the sheets into the top bars and they use divided bottom bars with the sheets wide enough to extend between them, which holds the sheets in place.

The foundation board is a handy device to use in inserting the foundation in the frames, nailing in the cleat and imbedding the cross wires.

The foundation board is a handy device to use in inserting the foundation in the frames, nailing in the cleat and imbedding the cross wires.

Foundation Board

A foundation board is a catalogue item you will find very handy in inserting the foundation in the frames, nailing in the wedge and imbedding the wires. There is an inner panel that is just the right height to support the sheets of comb foundation for imbedding and nailing in the wedge.

If you have only a few frames lay them on a table, one at a time, shove the bottom edge of the foundation through the divided bottom bar and then turn them upside down and lower the sheet into place, with the hooks pointed toward you. Nail the wedge under the hooks so the sheets cannot slip out.

Foundation Board 39The resistance coil reduces 110 volt current down where you will get no shock but it will have plenty of power to heat the wires quickly.

The resistance coil reduces 110 volt current down where you will get no shock but it will have plenty of power to heat the wires quickly.

Imbedding Wires

Electric and spur wire imbedders are regular catalogue items. For best results the spur wire imbedder should be heated over a flame, hot plate, etc., so that it will melt a drop of wax over the wire where each tooth presses down. Pull the top wire down slightly in the middle to help prevent stretching and pull the bottom wire up slightly to help hold the sheet straight. Do this work ahead of time and give comb foundation to the bees only during a honey flow or when being fed.

The spur wire imbedder is used to press the wires into the sheets of comb foundation.

The spur wire imbedder is used to press the wires into the sheets of comb foundation.

Resistance Coil

The resistance coil is a low priced device that can be plugged into any 110 volt electric outlet and which lowers the voltage sufficiently so that the outlet wires will not shock you but still it has enough power to quickly imbed the wires into comb foundation. It can be used with an electric imbedder but is best used with a foundation board. Touch the outlet wires to the ends of the frame wire and it will heat the wire sufficiently in a few seconds to melt it evenly into the sheet of comb foundation. Radio alligator clips may be attached to the outlet wires for convenience and speed.

This coil can also be used for removing the wires from comb honey. Break the wire near the nails that secure them, touch these wires with those from the resistance coil and when heated pull out the wire with pliers. Does not mar the beautiful cappings. This is an efficient low priced unit that will give a lifetime of satisfactory service.

Waxing In Foundation In The Grooved Top Bar Frames

The 5 3/8" shallow extracting frames are regularly listed with both the heavy (the thick top bars the same as used with the 9 1/8" brood frames having the wedge to nail in on the foundation) and the thin (3/8" thick) grooved top bar. The 4 1/2" half depth frames (these fit in the beeway section supers) are listed with the thin, grooved top bar only.

Beginners do not like the grooved top bars and have difficulty waxing in the foundation so it will remain in position. In addition they have much more confidence in a nail than in glue, even though one nationally known firm has been advertising for 50 years that glue is stronger than nails. The thin top bars sometimes sag under the weight of the heavy combs and this also worries the smaller beekeepers.

Commercial beekeepers using the shallow frames almost exclusively use the grooved top bar style because it is lower in price. The foundation can be waxed in much faster than it can be nailed in, if the proper equipment is used, and more honey can be stored in grooved top bar frames than in the same size frames with the heavy top bars.

With a wax tube fastener a tiny stream of wax can be run into the grooved top bar to secure the sheet of foundation in place.

With a wax tube fastener a tiny stream of wax can be run into the grooved top bar to secure the sheet of foundation in place.

Bee supply catalogues list a wax tube fastener which consists of a metal tube with a wooden handle fitted on one end and the other end soldered shut except for a 1/2" hole. Wax (preferably beeswax because it has a higher melting point than paraffine) is melted in a No. 2 or No. 3 tin can and this tube is set in the can. There is a small hole bored through the lower part of the handle which extends down into the hollow tube which permits the air to pass freely and the tube will quickly fill to the level of the wax in the can.

It is very important to have the temperature of the wax just about right and this is probably where beginners slip up. If the wax is just above the melting temperature (147 degrees F. for beeswax) it will cool quickly without soaking into the wood. On the other hand if it is too hot it will melt holes in the foundation and do a poor job. Probably the best temperature is 180 to 190 degrees at which temperature it will be quickly absorbed by the wood and melt into the foundation.

In using the wax tube the foundation is first placed in the groove of the frame and with the left hand the frame is held in a downward and slanting position, with the fingers holding the sheet of foundation in place. The wax tube is picked up with the thumb covering the small hole in the handle, which will form a vacuum thus holding the wax in the tube. The end of the tube is placed near the upper end of the groove, the thumb raised slightly and a small stream of wax will flow down into the groove as the tube is moved rapidly down the length of the top bar. With just a little experience this becomes a fast operation.

Beekeepers with 25 or more colonies, who produce comb honey in shallow frames, will find it profitable to build a portable stand, as pictured on following page, that will hold the frames at the proper angle and support the sheets of foundation in the grooves. These forms can be made of most any kind of scrap lumber but should be lightly constructed so that they are easily moved and stored for the next season.

It is best to make these in sizes so that they will hold 10, 20, 30 or more frames so as to fill a certain number of supers at each run. The back legs are attached with hinges so that they can be adjusted to the proper slant. The form blocks should be just thick enough so as to come up to the groove in the top bar and a quarter inch less than the inside length and width of the frames.

For large operators a jumbo sized wax tube may be made from 3/4" or larger copper tubing. Some operators use the syringes used by garage men for putting water in the battery but a style must be secured that will not deteriorate when left standing in the hot wax.

Make form blocks to fit inside the frames to hold the sheets of comb foundation in the groove and at the proper angle and make the waxing job an assembly line proposition. Those pictured have only half a sheet of foundation but a full sheet is better.

Make form blocks to fit inside the frames to hold the sheets of comb foundation in the groove and at the proper angle and make the waxing job an assembly line proposition. Those pictured have only half a sheet of foundation but a full sheet is better.