What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[Anduril]

Have you tried turning it over?

James

It's an infinity pool.

 

[Anduril]

No.
Think upside down.

The thin rebates are on the bottom of the roof, I've done that with some and the main top has the rebates facing the galvanised sheet.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Is it not a waste of human potential that we understand the scenario?
# i'm sorry, i've had hhhwine! ##

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

No.
Think upside down.

tht's the other option I thought - still the same though, the grooves are probably the same use at the bottom than at the top totally superfluous for any purpose. In fact I think I did one like that for someone at my association years ago - he didn't notice, neither did the bees.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

tht's the other option I thought - still the same though, the grooves are probably the same use at the bottom than at the top totally superfluous for any purpose. In fact I think I did one like that for someone at my association years ago - he didn't notice, neither did the bees.

I cover the holes in the crown board. Insulation on top. My neighbour does neither. Both our colonies survive so . . . ?
Adaptable little buggers aren't they.

 

[Garry R]

They have had a long time to adapt before beekeepers came along!

 

[Swarm]

Made a start sorting through some cedar offcuts with a view to making a few more mating nucs for the new season.

 

[Murox]

Scavenged a couple of 2.4m X 115mm planks from the beach this morning. Good clean timber, looks like it may have been milled for decking. Just right for making a couple of underfloor entrances in the next few weeks.

 

[pargyle]

Nothing to do with beekeeping - made these for my grandchildren ... and boy do they SPIN !!

 

[JamezF]

Flushed with my success at getting the car door open, I decided to wait before removing the lock and replacing it as there's fiddly stuff to be done and only a couple of hours of daylight left, so I moved on to my next experiment with wax: making my own foundation.

It took me a few goes (but only a few) to get the hang of things. I'm not sure it's an ideal job to attempt when the air temperature is only a few degrees above freezing, but by the third one I felt that I was getting the idea.

It's still thicker than bought foundation, and brittle too, I reckon it will make nice starter strips though. Just need to trim it to size.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's still thicker than bought foundation,

Which is good, the bees just draw it out and build cells with it ,saving them the work and effort of producing more wax, if you buy good quality Eastern European wax foundation it's a lot thicker than the offerings we get over here - and it's seen as a mark of quality.

 

[JamezF]

Which is good, the bees just draw it out and build cells with it ,saving them the work and effort of producing more wax, if you buy good quality Eastern European wax foundation it's a lot thicker than the offerings we get over here - and it's seen as a mark of quality.

How interesting. I'd never heard that.

James

 

[roche]

Flushed with my success at getting the car door open, I decided to wait before removing the lock and replacing it as there's fiddly stuff to be done and only a couple of hours of daylight left, so I moved on to my next experiment with wax: making my own foundation.

It took me a few goes (but only a few) to get the hang of things. I'm not sure it's an ideal job to attempt when the air temperature is only a few degrees above freezing, but by the third one I felt that I was getting the idea.

It's still thicker than bought foundation, and brittle too, I reckon it will make nice starter strips though. Just need to trim it to size.

James

Is that moulded or pressed? Looks good

 

[JamezF]

Is that moulded or pressed? Looks good

I guess I'd describe it as moulded. It's not an embossed pattern pressed into a flat sheet of wax, at least. Whilst I can see the appeal of the latter method (especially if the wax is then more flexible), I can't justify the cost of the machinery to do it.

I have a pair of embossed silicone sheets bought from Amazon:

After pouring molten wax onto the lower sheet I rolled the top one across it and then ran a wooden block across the top to spread the wax and expel any excess which I scraped up and returned to the melter whilst the sheet was setting.

I did consider trying to fix the top sheet to a hinged "lid" that folds down onto the molten wax. I might still attempt that. We'll see how it goes.

James

 

[Sutty]

I guess I'd describe it as moulded. It's not an embossed pattern pressed into a flat sheet of wax, at least. Whilst I can see the appeal of the latter method (especially if the wax is then more flexible), I can't justify the cost of the machinery to do it.

I have a pair of embossed silicone sheets bought from Amazon:

After pouring molten wax onto the lower sheet I rolled the top one across it and then ran a wooden block across the top to spread the wax and expel any excess which I scraped up and returned to the melter whilst the sheet was setting.

I did consider trying to fix the top sheet to a hinged "lid" that folds down onto the molten wax. I might still attempt that. We'll see how it goes.

James

Do the two sheets align properly so that the bases of the cells meet like natural comb?

 

[Parsonage Bees]

@JamezF It's like making pancakes. The first couple never come out right.
I also bought the wooden roller from Thornes which was a waste of money. Gets wax all over it. I just press it down by hand. Sheets a bit variable thickness.
Very pale wax btw.

 

[Garry R]

The foundation "press" I made and sold a few years back had the two silicone sheets (home made by me before they were commonly available) in register and hinged at one end, I mounted these on a sloping tray and lowered the top sheet onto the bottom one as I poured the wax, Yes it is thicker than shop bought but there are two advantages. One is that the bees love it and secondly it makes it so easy to wire for the brood frames.

 

[Garry R]

Do the two sheets align properly so that the bases of the cells meet like natural comb?

They align well enough. Don't underestimate the bees ability to sort out any slight misalignment.

 

[JamezF]

Do the two sheets align properly so that the bases of the cells meet like natural comb?

Just been out to check. The alignment isn't absolutely perfect, but it really isn't very far off. Quite possibly more down to me getting the sheets misaligned rather than the mould being wrong.

James

 

[Sutty]

Just been out to check. The alignment isn't absolutely perfect, but it really isn't very far off. Quite possibly more down to me getting the sheets misaligned rather than the mould being wrong.

James

Thanks, I was wondering whether it was easy to get them aligned.
I guess you could build a hinged metal press, then cover the lower sheet with silicone, float a sheet of commercial foundation on it and allow to set, then grease the exposed silicone around the edges before pouring on more silicone and then lowering on the top metal sheet.
Once all set and the commercial foundation removed it would create an aligned press.
On a related note I've often wondered if you could 3D print foundation rollers.