Making your own foundation

[itma]

I thought about the hinge bit but it does make sense, fitting it when the whole thing is stuck together will eliminate a possible error in aligning it if separated first

I appreciate that absolutely. Clever, I thought.
Its not the 'why, just the 'how' that is eluding me (and my limited skills!)

 

[itma]

...
The 30's foundation press I sometimes use has a spelter metal mold and is ok once it heats up... but only makes thick foundation.. ideal for mating nucs!

OK, I'll bite. Why is thick ideal for that, for you?

 

[pargyle]

Some of the things that aren't initially clear to me -
- Are there any tricks involved in putting the hinge on, and the sides? It seems as though the sandwich is completed, all stuck together, and then somehow trimmed and 'squared up', before fitting the hinge, etc ...
- If I understand correctly, he only discovered that he needed a release agent after he first tried to use it! However, it was easy after he used some sort of release agent?

I think it's neat and not dissimilar to the cast aluminium foundation mold I've seen one of our association beekeepers using. A few things occurred to me:

1. It needs a full tray under the whole thing as the odds are that molten wax will ooze out all over the place ... not just into the water filled drip tray at the 'front' of the mold.

2. He used laminate faced plywood for the basic construction which is ideal but I would rough the surface of the laminate with some very fine (400 grit) abrasive before applying the silicon ... the bond of silicon to the laminate will be improved 500% with the addition of this microscoring.

3.Sikaflex is probably the best silicon to use for this ... it's expensive but it has exceptionally adhesive properties and sets quite firm.

4. Fibreglass (GRP) stockists sell mold release agents which could be painted on to a plastic foundation sheet that would prevent the silicon sticking to the sheet ... which might be better than using a wax foundation sheet and then melting the wax out of the mold ?

5. Once the mold is made and you are starting to use it to make foundation then a good mold release agent is a solution of washing up liquid in water sprayed on to the surfaces of the mold before the wax is poured.

6. As an alternative to silicon I wonder whether the one of the casting products used by dentists (often known as 'Casting stone') might be a more durable alternative to silicon for making the mold ... any dentists amongst forum members ?

 

[victor meldrew]

I witnessed a demonstration by a Yorkshire beekeeper from Howarth.
He produced the most beautiful foundation in double quick time !
He had a set of Hertzog foundation moulds
He had a pair rubber rollered squeezers rescued from a scrap yard .
His method was wonderful in its simplicity .
He had a deep tray of molten wax floating on hot water !
He had an equal sized bath of cold water
This is the neat bit. He had constructed a curved plywood board the size of the required foundation ,it was fitted with a simple handle .
The demo went as followed .
He dipped the board into the cold water , then dipped ( rocked ) the board across the surface of the wax which stuck to the board and allowed him to literally pick up sheet of wax.
This he simply peeled of the board and placed in between both halves of the mould.
Next he fed the mould through the rollers , separated them and produced a piece of foundation patterned on each side!
He demonstrated the flexibility of the foundation , pointing out the brittleness of cast foundation.
He maintained that the act of pressing the foundation altered the molecular structure to his advantage !
Easier to demonstrate than to describe
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Hivemaker.]

He had a deep tray of molten wax floating on hot water !
He had an equal sized bath of cold water
This is the neat bit. He had constructed a curved plywood board the size of the required foundation ,it was fitted with a simple handle .
The demo went as followed .
He dipped the board into the cold water , then dipped ( rocked ) the board across the surface of the wax which stuck to the board and allowed him to literally pick up sheet of wax.
This he simply peeled of the board and placed in between both halves of the mould.

Couple of the Fat bee man you tube videos use this method to make the blank wax sheets, but they then use roller mill. I have a couple of sets of the type of embossed former you describe, John, pass them through an old washing mangle with rubber rollers to make the embossed sheets.
Also dipping boards can be used to make the blank sheets of wax.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I have made foundation with the leaf type press, as in this thread, and the Herring (rolled former) type press, both can produce good foundation, only difference is the cast foundation tends to be more brittle.

Also the above methods became too slow for what i need, the method being used in the video below is faster, with a few modifications needed like cutters to cut the foundation to width on exit of the embossing rollers, spray bar over embossing rollers and longer tablets of wax.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgOHM6ZhS3M"]Beeswax foundation presentation - YouTube[/ame]

 

[beekeeping4you]

Dutch DIY Watercooled
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x0LIrejPLI"]Kunstraatpers watergekoeld - YouTube[/ame]

 

[REDWOOD]

The only thing I would add is a stop so when the two halfs are closed you don't squeeze all the wax out. I can't see the last two you tube vids because I'm in work lol

 

[REDWOOD]

Anyone made one yet

 

[REDWOOD]

Anyone got an old 14x12 plastic foundation they don't want

 

[Finman]

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Hand made compared to automatic machine

Language Bosnia

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAgEgWqICWU"]Proizvodnja satnih osnova www.apivita.hr - YouTube[/ame]


Romania

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7fcEkTF-OA"]Satne osnove, începuturi de ciara. vax kakor.wax cakes. - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Finman]

.
Like Hivemaker's video, but manual

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzDCpZuXNzE"]FABRICACION DE CERA ESTAMPADA DE ABEJAS BEE WAX - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Finman]

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Kitchen job


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECGEzPUW0M"]presa faguri - YouTube[/ame]