Starter Strips in Supers

[Midland Beek]

Never used starter strips before. I use MD and cut wireless super foundation in half using a pizza cutter. Cut with a wavy line. However, I never thought to bend over the foundation under the top bar wedge and instead wedged the foundation in the normal way.

What do you think? Okay? Thanks.

 

[Nuc]

Tried similar last year for the heather and worked a treat.

 

[Finman]

.
You are going to spoil your expencive frames.

Actually without foundations combs will be more expencive.

You will loose a good heap of money.

 

[Polyanwood]

I sometimes use starter strips for cut comb. It works best if you make sure you have the foundation oriented the right way, but it works Ok even if you don't.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I've done it this year, after the horrors of trying to extract last year's heather crop.

I turned the wedge through 90 degrees before attaching it - I thought it might give a better guide. I haven't a clue if it's the right thing to do, or not.

The wax they're making is almost pure white, it's beautiful, and is mostly drone-sized cells.

 

[itma]

I would expect that your starter strips could be attached in the same ways as are used for fixing starter strips of foundation in Apideas and TBH's.
Glueing with molten wax (as from a burning beeswax candle!) seems the most appropriate.

 

[MJBee]

I would expect that your starter strips could be attached in the same ways as are used for fixing starter strips of foundation in Apideas and TBH's.
Glueing with molten wax (as from a burning beeswax candle!) seems the most appropriate.

Thanks Itma - for years I have been making a right old mess by pouring molten wax from a tiny saucepan to glue starter strips. Candle from now on Doh.

Blindingly obvious really

 

[fiftyjon]

I would expect that your starter strips could be attached in the same ways as are used for fixing starter strips of foundation in Apideas and TBH's.
Glueing with molten wax (as from a burning beeswax candle!) seems the most appropriate.

Thanks Itma - for years I have been making a right old mess by pouring molten wax from a tiny saucepan to glue starter strips. Candle from now on Doh.

Blindingly obvious really

I use a bent teaspoon, nicked from the cutley draw and squeezed the sides up.

It makes a lovely little pouring device for the molten wax.

I put the wax in a little pot that is suspended across a small saucepan of water.

 

[Little John]

If you're going to try starter strips, there's no need to use strips of foundation. Lolly-pop sticks glued into the slot work fine. I wipe mine with a trace of molten wax, but others say not to bother - the ridge itself is all the bees require.

There's even one bloke on the web:
http://www.beebehavior.com/foundationless_frames.php
http://www.beebehavior.com/foundationless_frames_brood_area.php
who cuts drinks cartons into strips and fits those into his frames. Seems to works a treat.

LJ

Oh - forgot to add - to melt a few dabs of wax, try using an old soldering iron. A diode in the plug-cap will lower the temperature to somewhere near appropriate.

 

[itma]

For honey-crop supers (as per the OP), foundationless suggests to me the production of honey for presentation (maybe even sale) in the comb.

For that purpose, I definitely wouldn't be using lollysticks or drinks cartons ...

 

[Finman]

.
If we look Langstroth size hives, one box needs 1 kg foundations.
A normal good hive needs 4 boxes as supers.

One kg wax needs 6-8 kg honey, lets calculate 7.

One hive needs 30 kg honey to compensate foundations. In money it is 200 pounds.

Are you ready to pay 200 pounds that you have natural combs?

If you give melted wax to the foundation maker, its cost is 4 pound per kg. For 4 kg it is 16 pounds.
That is he cost to recycle wax, like uncapping wax.

Natural combs will be full of drone combs. They are impossible to use in brood boxes.
It makes nursing very inflexible and you will have often lack of ready brood combs.

It is easier to make combs in main flow than make bailey comb excanges in spring.

.

.

 

[itma]

For cut comb, I have used T's "thin, unwired, Premier" foundation in BS Shallow size.

Since its going to be eaten by humans, I would be prepared to pay a little extra, up to 50% extra (£2.50/10 sheets) for "Organic" grade.
But Thºrne's only sell Organic as wired foundation. Which seems daft to me.