Who makes their own foundation?

[Olivia9801]

I think it would be good to hear from those that do make their own foundation and which technique and equipment they use and the results they obtain.

I’ve used an aluminium press previously but found the wax sheets were to thick which maybe due to me not getting the wax warm enough? I was very grateful to a very kind beekeeper who gave me a foundation roller this year. Unfortunately due to circumstance, I haven’t had time to use it yet but will do in the new year.

I don’t pursue this to simply save money/cut costs, but enjoy it as being an extension into the pleasures I get in working out techniques in how to make things and just the satisfaction of making things and especially for beekeeping.

Would like to know more from beekeepers who also pursue making their own foundation.

 

[JamezF]

I don't. Yet. I bought a couple of sheets of plastic foundation this year with the intention of making a silicone mould from them and trying to press sheets of foundation from the silicone, but I've not got very far with that yet (where "not very far" is roughly approximated by "nowhere"). I wanted to have a go because wax doesn't appear to have much value when sold (as candles, for instance) or exchanged for foundation when compared to the resources consumed to create it. I'd quite happily use it to make starter strips for frames instead if that works (and I've been told that it can do so even when it isn't pressed into a hexagonal pattern to start the cells off for the bees), because from my point of view that's a more valuable use of the wax.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the roller. The impression I have is that pressed wax can be quite brittle whereas rolled wax is more malleable though as I've tried neither I don't know if that's true.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

(and I've been told that it can do so even when it isn't pressed into a hexagonal pattern to start the cells off for the bees)

Yes it works. You can take the wedge out and pour a line of wax along the top bar

 

[Buzby]

I've seen Tim Rowe (Rose Beehives) making plain sheets on his YouTube channel (Way out west)

 

[Mabee]

I've seen Tim Rowe (Rose Beehives) making plain sheets on his YouTube channel (Way out west)

I was going to try his method this year but ended up using all my cappings wax for candles and furniture polish but seems easy enough, hopefully try next year. Have you tried his method?

I like the idea of using your own wax for foundation, you know what has been used in the hive in the form of treatments and health of the colony.

 

[JohnRB]

I had my first go just before Christmas. I bought a second hand Leaf foundation press a few years ago and never used it. After making candles this year I had a quick go with it, just to try it out. As you can see from the photo. I didn't know how much wax to use. Like you say, it seems quite brittle but I have cut it into starter strips, ready to fix to frames, with no issues. I think the major advantage is that it is thin and if I want to cut some sheets for sections it would be ideal. Also, I know where the wax has come from (my cappings) so it has never been exposed to synthetic chemicals as I only use MAQS or Oxalic acid.

I thought it might be difficult to remove, but I had spread a little soapy water over the plates before pouring and it lifted straight out.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Yes, I've made my own foundation using a silicon mould from Thornes because I don't like spending money and worry about the type of wax you lot are trading in!!

Sheets tend to come out heavier than bought foundation. You have to play with the temperature of the wax and how much you press it down. It can be thick, thin, variable thickness, include impurities if you don't filter it and it all gets built out. Kitchen gets in a mess. There's a routine of pour the wax, close the mould, leave to cool and cut the previous sheet to size with a pizza cutter, come back to the mould and turn out the next sheet. Don't bother with the wooden roller. Steady work for a winter evening.

. . . . Ben

+edit Silicon mould is described as Apis Mellifera Mellifera but it is not small cell. 5.8mm like bought foundation.

 

[Malmcd]

I made a couple of presses years ago, one out of dental plaster and one out of pure cement! The latter worked fine. A hinged frame was used and closed on a sheet of MD foundation as the initial mould. In use plenty of soapy water was used as a release agent. The resulting foundation was quite thick and brittle if not put into the frames warmish. I wired into the frames rather than wired the foundation. As I was taking in wax in exchange for commercial foundation at the time it did not matter that I was using quite a bit of wax.

 

[Garry R]

I make and sell these silicone moulds but not recently. The foundation as mentioned is thicker but the bees love it. I started as I was not sure how good "bought in" foundation is as regards contaminants so happier to use my own wax.

 

[Sutty]

Does anyone use flat sheets of wax as foundation & how do the bees react?

 

[JamezF]

Does anyone use flat sheets of wax as foundation & how do the bees react?

I've never tried it, but I've heard people who claim to have done so and said that the bees just get on with it and don't mind at all.

James

 

[Brown Beek]

Tried using plain wax sheets without embossing them, but kept getting mixed results. Bees too often build comb on or parallel to the sheet rather that ‘drawing’ the sheet. I got fed up having to cut this off, so have opted to use a Thorne silicone mold press. Admittedly, this can feel a phaff till you get a rhythm as suggested by Parsonage Bees, but the bees draw the results just fine.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've been told of beekeepers back in the old days using newspaper painted with molten beeswax instead of foundation and doing just fine (but they avoided the sun and the daily mail)

 

[Olivia9801]

Thank you for all your replies!

Nice to know there are a few who have tried making their own. I think a lot of perseverance is required to calculate the correct temperature of the wax to create a good enough flow to avoid being to thick.

My efforts for heating the wires into the wax were pretty good when I tried it, but still needed a bit more practice.

Will try again soon I hope!

Happy New year everyone!

 

[Garry R]

It doesn't need a lot of practice and once you get it, it becomes second nature.

Thank you for all your replies!

Nice to know there are a few who have tried making their own. I think a lot of perseverance is required to calculate the correct temperature of the wax to create a good enough flow to avoid being to thick.

My efforts for heating the wires into the wax were pretty good when I tried it, but still needed a bit more practice.

Will try again soon I hope!

Happy New year everyone!

Doesn't take a lot of practice and once you have it cracked it becomes second nature.

 

[Olivia9801]

I make and sell these silicone moulds but not recently. The foundation as mentioned is thicker but the bees love it. I started as I was not sure how good "bought in" foundation is as regards contaminants so happier to use my own wax.

Are you able to say what the thickness of your foundation is?

 

[Garry R]

Are you able to say what the thickness of your foundation is?

I guess it's about 2mm- ish it sits in the side bar grooves fairly easily.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

*** edit I'm not sure how useful this post is!!

Dug out some notes I made the first time I made my foundation in 2020. I tried to work out whether I was saving any money. The answer is no.

Started with 4.5kg/9.9lb of wax and made 29 sheets + some left over = 155g/sheet. (I've got better at making it thinner using a higher temperature. I didn't filter it well, it had all sort of impurities. Bees were fine with it.)

Thornes foundation weighed 57g/sheet. ? (don't have any to check this)

*** edit - I have one sheet of BS brood frame wax left over from last year and it weighs just over 100g, so nearly twice the weight of bought foundation)

At the time, if I'd traded my 4.5kg block of wax in at Thornes I'd have got 37 sheets of wired foundation.

Saving money should not be the aim. It's the fact you know where the wax has come from and what's in it. A modern buzzword - sustainability.

*** NOTE - I'm not sure of the accuracy of these numbers from looking at my scrawled notes. Make your own measurements. Looking at the photo below, was the weight per sheet before I trimmed it to size? I don't remember.

 

[Sutty]

You should possibly also factor in that you will get more wax back when you render combs made with your thick foundation, which makes end costs harder to assess.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

You should possibly also factor in that you will get more wax back when you render combs made with your thick foundation, which makes end costs harder to assess.

Loong term. I'm not very good at recycling my old brood comb. 7 years now and should be swapping out more frames.