Making thin foundation for cut comb

[Curly green finger's]

Evening just wondering what folk are using to make thin foundation for cut comb possibly a 1000 sheets .
Thanks

 

[JamezF]

I don't do cut comb, but if I did I'd probably start foundationless and get the bees to draw it all themselves. I'm not sure it's practical to make really thin foundation on a (relatively) small scale

James

 

[Ian123]

Evening just wondering what folk are using to make thin foundation for cut comb possibly a 1000 sheets .
Thanks

Is there a reason you want to make it?….Home made stuff is generally a lot thicker and I’d suggest going to be rather to chewy
As to foundationless if your doing it for profit I wouldn’t bother you’ll get much more usable comb using foundation imo.
If your doing it for no other reason than one of your weird organic customers I’d suggest baffling them with BS and use something like National bee supplies “purified wax”

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

buy it

 

[Curly green finger's]

buy it

I can’t , I’m not allowed to buy in boxes or frames or wax , hence me asking about making wax sheets.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

that is some weird outfit you work for.
unless you go down the line of foundationless frames, you can forget about making your own foundation for cut comb - it will be like chewing cardboard.

 

[Curly green finger's]

yeah that was my thought , work are wanting me to be more sustainable emyr , I’ve said before we are going down the biodynamic farming road as part of this equipment or as much as I can will be made here same as feeding I will be getting to the stage where I don’t feed sugar or at all which means feeding honey .
my own operation at home on the clee won’t be the same but some of the principles if will up hold there also.

I would like to get to the stage where I don’t treat for varroa mite .

 

[Erichalfbee]

that is some weird outfit you work for.

Well as long as they pay curly well

 

[Erichalfbee]

Evening just wondering what folk are using to make thin foundation for cut comb possibly a 1000 sheets

Ask on https://www.beesource.com/ ?

 

[Mint Bee]

if you have enough of your own wax harvested, why not see if one of the suppliers will mill it into CC foundation. Some of the larger bee farmers already do this so they know the quality of the foundation they are using.

 

[plain_hunt]

I can’t , I’m not allowed to buy in boxes or frames or wax , hence me asking about making wax sheets.

Evening just wondering what folk are using to make thin foundation for cut comb possibly a 1000 sheets .
Thanks

I make my own foundation using a Bain Marie to melt the wax in, and then dip a board in, three times, makes lovely thin foundation. I then send it through a set of rollers, and cut it to the size I want. I can do 50 sheets in less than two hours, at a leisurely pace. That includes wiring it, which you wouldn’t want to. Much quicker, and less spoilage than the silicone foundation makers (sorry Garry R).

 

[rolande]

The only realistic way to even have a chance would be to invest in a set of rollers but I'm not even sure there's any small scale roller set up that would do anywhere near a good enough job.

Maybe a compromise would be to explain the difficulty and then get Thrones to mill it out of your own wax.

As for sustainable -that's yesterday's world, you need to be regenerative now!

 

[Curly green finger's]

@

The only realistic way to even have a chance would be to invest in a set of rollers but I'm not even sure there's any small scale roller set up that would do anywhere near a good enough job.

Maybe a compromise would be to explain the difficulty and then get Thrones to mill it out of your own wax.

As for sustainable -that's yesterday's world, you need to be regenerative now!

Thanks I know a few bfs that get there wax milled and I have asked how much they pay it’s an option.
We are already regenerative

 

[Erichalfbee]

I would like to get to the stage where I don’t treat for varroa mite .

You need to talk to @Beesnaturally

 

[Wilco]

yeah that was my thought , work are wanting me to be more sustainable emyr , I’ve said before we are going down the biodynamic farming road as part of this equipment or as much as I can will be made here same as feeding I will be getting to the stage where I don’t feed sugar or at all which means feeding honey .
my own operation at home on the clee won’t be the same but some of the principles if will up hold there also.

I would like to get to the stage where I don’t treat for varroa mite .

What's the logic with not treating for varroa? OA sublimation doesn't leave residues or affect the environment and treating is better for the welfare of the bees plus there's an argument it protects native bumbles etc. as lower varroa = lower viral load = less risk of cross infection.

Making things in house is not always more sustainable. What's the carbon and resource cost of you buying or making your own foundation milling equipment vs. buying foundation from a business which already does this? Just because it sounds good doesn't mean it's actually beneficial for the environment or for you. Realistically the only way that makes sense with what you're saying is going foundationless.

 

[sipa]

I bet it would be more susutainable to buy it in from an established and reputable specialist supplier such as KBS, than all the buggering around it would take for you to produce it your self.
And for a large enough order they could mill to your specs.
Just sayin....

N.B. No affiliation to KBS other than I like their product, it's all we use.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I bet it would be more susutainable to buy it in from an established and reputable specialist supplier such as KBS, than all the buggering around it would take for you to produce it your self.
And for a large enough order they could mill to your specs.
Just sayin....

N.B. No affiliation to KBS other than I like their product, it's all we use.

Kbs ? I hear what your all saying foundationless is ok but it also slows down extracting time I am already a third foundation less with super frames , I think for all the hassle I’m going to look into getting our wax milled .
At work we are set up to possibly make frames / boxes .

 

[JamezF]

I hear what your all saying foundationless is ok but it also slows down extracting time

Surely that isn't an issue for cut comb?

James

 

[Ian123]

Surely that isn't an issue for cut comb?

James

You’d pick your better frames for CC and extract the rest.

 

[Curly green finger's]

You’d pick your better frames for CC and extract the rest.

Yes if I get 70% cc out of 50 supers that still leaves 150 frames to extract from for eg if my maths are right .