Foundation Embossing Rollers Manual 4.9mm cell dimention

[Hicham65]

Rollers are used few times but in very good condition.

These are precision made embossed engraving manual rollers for beeswax foundation production that you can add to your existing apiary equipment.

Dimension of individual rollers are:
320mm long.
62mm wide.
4.9mm cell width.

After preparing the soft beeswax into 5mm thick sheet this engraving rollers emboss both sides of the sheet with the accurate hexagonal cell shape.

The purpose of placing engraved beeswax foundations in your beehive is to speed up the time for the bees to produce honey. Hence increasing productivity and profitability of your apiary.

Without the engraved foundations bees have to spend considerable time in building the wax foundation then build the hexagonal cells where to store honey or bee larva.

Exact rollers are being sold by:
* Thorne (beekeeping equipment UK) at £1,723.33
* Swienty (beekeeping equipment Denmark) at EUR 2.690,25


Please PM me for an offer

Regards
Hicham

 

[Chrisfnvs]

Hi Hicham65, they look in great condition, i would love to take them off your hands, unfortunately the funds are a little low at the moment due to having to replace some major items, so i am not in a position to purchase them right at the moment, so good luck and i hope you sell them soon Chris

 

[Hivemaker.]

Hi Hicham65, they look in great condition, i would love to take them off your hands

Are you thinking of going small cell then Chris.

 

[Chrisfnvs]

I did not even think of checking the cell size Peter, i was looking at the overall condition which looks great, no good for me then i melted down another batch of wax yesterday (aprox 30lbs) which i will have to exchange next week, producing my own foundation is something i need to get organised in the near future. Chris

 

[blackie]

Whats wrong with the cell size 4.9mm thanks ?

 

[Tom Bick]

Most commercial foundation is approx 5.4mm and I think the idea was it would give you a slightly bigger bee and one that could carry a bigger pay load. The smaller cell size of 4.9mm is supposed to be closer to what the bees prefer if left to their own devices. It was also thought that the smaller cell size helped reduce varroa but perhaps only a few still believe in this now. Personally I bet all the cells end up pretty similar after a few brood cycles.

 

[pargyle]

Most commercial foundation is approx 5.4mm and I think the idea was it would give you a slightly bigger bee and one that could carry a bigger pay load. The smaller cell size of 4.9mm is supposed to be closer to what the bees prefer if left to their own devices. It was also thought that the smaller cell size helped reduce varroa but perhaps only a few still believe in this now. Personally I bet all the cells end up pretty similar after a few brood cycles.

Not looking to hijack this thread or start a controversy but you (like me) are foundationless ... have you measured the cell size your bees have created ?

I didn't bother last year (enough to do in my first year) although I understand that bees that have been used to foundation take a while to 'regress' to a smaller size .. but I will probably add cell measurement to my list of inspection tasks ... more out of curiosity than any conscious thoughts about small cell size being of benefit.

 

[Tom Bick]

I have measured some in the past and it's better to measure say ten cells to get an average and they vary, even with your own eyes you can see cells of different sizes and some equal to foundation if not larger.

 

[pargyle]

I have measured some in the past and it's better to measure say ten cells to get an average and they vary, even with your own eyes you can see cells of different sizes and some equal to foundation if not larger.

Yes ... just had a look back over some of my inspection photos and whilst I can't measure them from the photos it's pretty clear, when you look closely, that there is quite a variation in cell size (ignoring drone cells of course - just worker cells).

I'm going to make a measure that I can lay across the frame of the comb when I photo the frames this coming season and then I can do some measurements on the PC rather than taking time during inspections - good idea to measure 10 or so and average them ...

Although, thinking about it, if I have a full frame and as I know the width of the frame between the side bars, it may be possible to check some measurements, on last year's comb, they built from the photos I took ? Just a larger sample for an average....

 

[REDWOOD]

You can buy foundation rollers from china for a few hundred quid in both cell sizes

 

[Mammoth]

Most commercial foundation is approx 5.4mm and I think the idea was it would give you a slightly bigger bee and one that could carry a bigger pay load. The smaller cell size of 4.9mm is supposed to be closer to what the bees prefer if left to their own devices. It was also thought that the smaller cell size helped reduce varroa but perhaps only a few still believe in this now. Personally I bet all the cells end up pretty similar after a few brood cycles.

Apologies for the late post, still catching up on few gazillion unread posts

Commercial foundation cell size caught my eye....I know, it must have been wired sheet..

As a point of interest!
Is there a consensus for preferred cell size when it comes to commercial foundation.
I took a peek at several foundation rollers manufacturers and the cell size produced varies i.e. 5.2mm, 5.4mm etc

Thoughts?
Does it matter?
Is it a commercial versus hobby standpoint? i.e. commercial bee keeping prefers 5.4mm as it results in aircraft carrier size bees?

Given the sheet size is the same overall you will have less bigger bees or more smaller bees, in a super the honey storage difference would be negligible? (Or am I spouting tosh?)


Cheers

 

[Mammoth]

Just realised, should have gone to another area for this question, not for sale/wanted...
Apologies.

 

[rickvv]

You can buy foundation rollers from china for a few hundred quid in both cell sizes

Where? The cheapest I have found is USD 750 plus usd 350 for shipping. If you add import duty (20%), the whole lot comes to about £750.

Making my own foundation is a goal, especially if you compare it with the pittance you get for your wax in Xchange for new!

 

[REDWOOD]

Where? The cheapest I have found is USD 750 plus usd 350 for shipping. If you add import duty (20%), the whole lot comes to about £750.

Making my own foundation is a goal, especially if you compare it with the pittance you get for your wax in Xchange for new!

I haven't contacted them for the full price
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Manual-beeswax-comb-foundation-Tablet-Press_748072523.html

 

[BeetoBee]

Hi Hicham65

Do you have your rollers still for sale please?

Thank you
BeetoBee

 

[wightbees]

It's a old thread,? Very unlikely I feel.

 

[oliver90owner]

As wb, and to add:

Last Activity:-17th February 2015-11:15 AM

So likely not even around, unless reading without signing in!