Wax Foundation Roller

[Stiffy]

Looking to next year and how much I have spent this year on foundation
I would be interested to know if anyone has used one of the foundation rollers advertised on Fleabay, such as:
eBay item number: 132201333814

S

 

[domino]

Why not try foundationless?

I went foundationless a while ago and it works a treat.

 

[wightbees]

I was only looking just now! There's cheaper ones on there but customs on top?
I have looked on YouTube and from what I can tell, you have to roll it out then through the foundation roller. Do you need another roller, I think?
I would be interested if I could figure a way of doing it cheaper : )

 

[wightbees]

Foundationless works great, I can show you some lovely comb but it comes at a cost, nectar !

 

[Stiffy]

Foundationless works great, I can show you some lovely comb but it comes at a cost, nectar !

Thanks, trying to save on costs. Although I love my bees they have to earn their keep, so foundation less is not really an option
S

 

[domino]

Foundationless works great, I can show you some lovely comb but it comes at a cost, nectar !

fair point, it does make you look after your comb better

 

[pargyle]

Foundationless works great, I can show you some lovely comb but it comes at a cost, nectar !

Not as much as people would have you believe ... you would be astounded at how frugal bees are with the central spines of the comb and how quickly they draw it out. Having seen them rejecting some frames with foundation that I was given I would never bother with foundation ... and I'm not convinced they actually draw out the wax of sheets of foundation .. I weighed a drawn frame of foundation free against a frame they (eventually) drew out of foundation and the weight of the frame with drawn on foundation was quite a bit heavier than the foundationless one ... the difference in weight could only have been the weight of the foundation.

There's downsides ... they build more drone comb and you have to be gentle with the frames until they harden off but wiring the frames helps. They can get a bit creative if you don't give them a guide to work from but it's easily sorted.

 

[yeogi75]

I make my own foundation and wire my own frames

[/ATTACH]

 

[wightbees]

Silicone press, you have there. How do you find using it, very quick and what's the sheets like? They come up often as a option.

 

[domino]

There's downsides ... they build more drone comb and you have to be gentle with the frames until they harden off but wiring the frames helps. They can get a bit creative if you don't give them a guide to work from but it's easily sorted.

The other downside I've found is that grafting from frames of young wax is tricky.

I actually like the additional drone frames, I tend to remove extra drone comb as part of my varroa management. Seems to work.

 

[yeogi75]

its just two sheets of silicone pour wax between allow to set and peel off, the wax can be a bit on the thick side but as you practice more you can get a good sheet, I do it when im cleaning wax to make candles and wax blocks I pour one sheet fill one candle and four blocks then peel off wax sheet, you can get into a routine, if the sheet is to thick chuck back in the boiler,

 

[For want of a better word]

eBay item number:
252846193424

We use one similar to this... cost £75 about 7 or so years ago.... had a press, now use that to make rolled candles.

Wax has to be very clean, rolls OK but a bit on the thin side... pain to wire, now only use for cut comb... still produce about 500 sheets per year, as we know the source of the wax!!!
OK if you have lots of time on your hands!

Yeghes da

 

[wightbees]

That's some inflation !

 

[mbc]

I do all my own foundation using dark recycled wax pressed between plastic sheets and a mangle, its a bit fiddly and has taken a while to get consistent quality but I've now got the knack and can make forty sheets of an evening no probs, bit pissed and cant remember the name of the plastic former sheets, got mine cheap at aucton ~£5
I made fifty odd tonight, probably thousands over the year.

 

[Hivemaker.]

bit pissed and cant remember the name of the plastic former sheets

Herring foundation press.....http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/herring.html

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/herringleaflet.html

 

[mbc]

Herring foundation press.....http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/herring.html

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/herringleaflet.html

That's the ones, chears HM