Wiring Langstroth Frame

[Into the lions den]

.
When you wire langstroth, give a 10 mm high gap between lower frame bar.

If the foundation is fills the frame, it will swell in warm hive and the lower part of comb will make a wave.

You just cut with carpet knife the heap of foundations.

If I ask foundation seller to make me such wax sheets, he cuts them in my size.

Hallelujah! Exactly what I have been telling people for several years to various degrees of disbelief. Let the bees join it at the bottom themselves, gives a stronger and flatter comb. Gap only needs to be a cell or two.

We get our wax made specially sized for this job.

Four wires for deeps btw.........and two....or three in frames made to our own spec.......in the supers. Extracting heather is hard on the combs, so high tensile wire, strung extremely taught, plenty of it, and heavy guage foundation.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

In the brood frames the pre-wired wax doesn't seem to be very secure when it's new, and, until the bees have drawn out the frames there are only the four tacks along the top bar plus top bar, and the loops of wire held in place by the bottom bars to hold everything in place. The large piece of foundation can flex a bit too easily.

Are Langs tacked and wired differently, because National foundation needs just three tacks lining up with loops across the top bar, and nothing across the bottom except of course the four corners (nailed vertically). Only others are the four connecting the sides and top bars

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

.
When you wire langstroth, give a 10 mm high gap between lower frame bar.

If the foundation is fills the frame, it will swell in warm hive and the lower part of comb will make a wave.

You just cut with carpet knife the heap of foundations.

If I ask foundation seller to make me such wax sheets, he cuts them in my size.

Hallelujah! Exactly what I have been telling people for several years to various degrees of disbelief. Let the bees join it at the bottom themselves, gives a stronger and flatter comb. Gap only needs to be a cell or two.

We get our wax made specially sized for this job.

Four wires for deeps btw.........and two....or three in frames made to our own spec.......in the supers. Extracting heather is hard on the combs, so high tensile wire, strung extremely taught, plenty of it, and heavy guage foundation.

Thanks guys - handy tip to remember for next year. Assume this is true for all sizes of brood frames especially the larger ones?

 

[herefordshirehoney]

Just a quick couple of observations. I hope you ordered Dadant shallow frames from T's not Langstroth shallow. The latter will not be deep enough.

Wired frames once you have all the kit are much quicker to add new foundation to - but the rub is you need the kit and you need to wire them in the first place of course.

Looks like i've got 50 shallow's that wont fit then just double checked, luckly i think i can solve it by by just the sidebars from t's... In shallows what gap should they be on langstroth's?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Black Comb]

Are Langs tacked and wired differently, because National foundation needs just three tacks lining up with loops across the top bar, and nothing across the bottom except of course the four corners (nailed vertically). Only others are the four connecting the sides and top bars

Just the same as nats excep they have four loops in top(and no side bar slots of course).
Don't forget to careful which way round you make up the side bars. I assume Hofmanns. Because they are rectangular it is possible to make them incorrectly and find flat side meets flat side. (or triangle meets triangle).
I always make up,with the left hand (looking) side bar with the triangle facing me and the right hand with the flat side facing me.
I am sure you understand what I mean.

 

[chipper]

I have been using Lang. Jumbos for 30 years.
I use wired foundation from T.s in the brood boxes which I pull taught by slightly bowing the bottom bars up and turning the wire loops over alternately.
This is usually sufficient until the bees attach it all themselves.
Only rarely do they create gaps along the sides and bottom.
In the Supers I use unwired cut comb foundation.
I loose about 1 in 200 frames in extraction but they are much easier to cut out if full of crystalised OSR.....And MUCH cheaper to replace....