Wired Foundation Question.

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If you're referring to the picture in OP - that's how foundation is wired in this country!

Yeah! Differe t climate since last Ice Ace
Your country have no habits how to wire. IT is sellers trick to get 3 fold price from stuff.

Premiere price!
 
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Your country have no habits how to wire. IT is sellers trick to get 3 fold price from stuff.

It's well nigh impossible to buy frames that have been pre-drilled, so wired foundation is the choice of most beekeepers.
 
Your country have no habits how to wire. IT is sellers trick to get 3 fold price from stuff.

Premiere price!

I agree with you ... that's one of the reasons that some of us are ... FOUNDATIONLESS !!

And ... today ... one of my hives must have been listening to YOU ... little beggars made three frames in a super (in less than a week) with comb at right angles to the frames ... very creative .... and then FILLED IT WITH HONEY !!!

What a mess .... Why they did it I have no idea .. all the other frames are fine and straight ... just a few perverse FINNISH bees I reckon ....
 
I'm trying for cut comb this year - I've gone for alternating full sheets of thin with small starter strips as I'd read somewhere that it helps them draw it straight. I'll take a photo if I remember to to show their progress. When I last looked, they were just starting to draw it out and had hardly touched the full sheets, while they were making good progress on many of the strips - though one had a curvy bit about to join the adjacent sheet which I took off. Luckily it went to a good use as a friend of mine was looking for samples of wax and other hive products for some research she's doing into the antibacterial properties of hive products (she's looking for samples of honey, wax, propolis or royal jelly from as many apiaries as she can if anyone is interested), so I was able to give her a block of rendered wax as well as some very freshly drawn comb to try. She was telling me that they are having a really hard time trying to get the bacteria to grow on any of the samples they've tried so far.


Good call: I tried drawing a box of strips and it was a mess: the foundation acts as a bit of a guide.

OP: if you're still here. You have a couple of choices: 3 alternatives. Either run very weak colonies, send swarms all over the place or deal with a surplus of honey.

I know it's not a superorganism (apart from the ants) but if you don't want to deal with honey (and it IS a pain...) how about an insect hotel and see how many types of bee you can raise?
 
I agree with you ... that's one of the reasons that some of us are ... FOUNDATIONLESS !!

And ... today ... one of my hives must have been listening to YOU ... little beggars made three frames in a super (in less than a week) with comb at right angles to the frames ... very creative .... and then FILLED IT WITH HONEY !!!

What a mess .... Why they did it I have no idea .. all the other frames are fine and straight ... just a few perverse FINNISH bees I reckon ....

I attended an association apiary meeting on Friday, and the topic of the evening was a look at a top bar hive.
The one thing that stuck in my mind was being told that a top bar hive is best orientated west-east, so that the bars align north-south, as the bees apparently prefer to align comb with the magnetic field.

I was a bit sceptical, but you never know...
so, did they build north-south?
 
I attended an association apiary meeting on Friday, and the topic of the evening was a look at a top bar hive.
The one thing that stuck in my mind was being told that a top bar hive is best orientated west-east, so that the bars align north-south, as the bees apparently prefer to align comb with the magnetic field.

I was a bit sceptical, but you never know...
so, did they build north-south?

No ... this hive has the frames aligned N/S and they have already filled one super with lovely straight comb and half the second super nice and straight and they they went off on one and did three frames with some very attractive new comb all at right angles and almost completely in a line due East/West.

I noticed when I had my Long deep Hive in action that I got straighter comb with the frames aligned N/S but my four polys now have frames E/W and it hasn't seemed to make any difference .. I wonder if it's more evident in Long Hives ...??
 
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Question was, how to wire foundations?

Answer was: Do not use foundations. Do not use wires, use fishing line.

I boiled wired old frames again in a lye solution yesterday. frames dried up in the sunshine. I tightened used stainless steal wires with small nail. 50 foundations was quite quick to install this way.
 
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Question was, how to wire foundations?



Answer was: Do not use foundations. Do not use wires, use fishing line.



I boiled wired old frames again in a lye solution yesterday. frames dried up in the sunshine. I tightened used stainless steal wires with small nail. 50 foundations was quite quick to install this way.


So wired, sterile, waxless frames. What's the next step? Pressing foundation onto the wires?
 
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UK is only country,where you do not get drilled holes in frames and stainless wire is tooexpencive.

UK has returned 150 years backwards in beekeeping.
 
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UK is only country,where you do not get drilled holes in frames and stainless wire is tooexpencive.

UK has returned 150 years backwards in beekeeping.

How can beekeeping go backwards?
 
I've started using plastic foundation so at least I'm in the 20th century :)
 
She was telling me that they are having a really hard time trying to get the bacteria to grow on any of the samples they've tried so far.

My son is doing something similar for an A'level Biology project. He's growing the bacteria on agar first then adding a measured dose of honey.
 
Good call: I tried drawing a box of strips and it was a mess: the foundation acts as a bit of a guide.

OP: if you're still here. You have a couple of choices: 3 alternatives. Either run very weak colonies, send swarms all over the place or deal with a surplus of honey.

I know it's not a superorganism (apart from the ants) but if you don't want to deal with honey (and it IS a pain...) how about an insect hotel and see how many types of bee you can raise?

I'm still here Thank's.. lol.. the dry stone wall's on the cottage are a haven for many types of solitary bee as is the surrounding woodland and garden for bumble bees and i love watching them..but in all honesty i love watching the honey bee behavior more.. they seem more organized maybe the sheer number's gives that impression but it amazes me how they all have different diet's and different job's to do through out the different (maybe it short ) part's of life.. and then we have the winter bee's that lives in monthes instead of week's.. they truly amaze me.. if i have surplus honey i am sure i will find something to do with it which would not be a bad thing i suppose as it's cost me around £600 to get this hive going and for another spare incase it's needed.. Thank you for you productive advice..
 
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Question was, how to wire foundations?

Answer was: Do not use foundations. Do not use wires, use fishing line.
Nope..



Is that medium frame or... But frame is over wired. 2 horizontal wires is enough.

I see Finman has extended his daily periods of stupidity..
 

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