Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: Ruben on March 23, 2006, 05:00:08 pm
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How many pounds of wax will I need to order to secure starter strips on 100 frames? Also where is a good source for wax?
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If you want "clean" (as in no Apistan or Checkmite) wax I've been buying mine from "fatbeeman" on Beesource. If you just want wax, you can buy it from Dadant, Brushy Mt etc. A local beekeeper, though, is your best bet since you won't have to pay the shipping. Cappings are usually pretty clean since the chemicals SHOULD only be in the brood nest and they should be new wax from this year. You can even melt down some 5.4mm foundation. :) That's what I figure it's good for. :)
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If you use statrer strips with wedge top bars shouldn't the wedge hold the strip securly enough without having to run a bead of wax besides? It would seem like you can squeeze it in tight enough when you nail the loose part of the wedge back in.
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If you use statrer strips with wedge top bars shouldn't the wedge hold the strip securly enough without having to run a bead of wax besides? It would seem like you can squeeze it in tight enough when you nail the loose part of the wedge back in.
Thats what I was thinking Hawk!!!
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The wedge is what I have done. It works most of the time. If you make it up as you need it. I have had some fall out and even the wedge warped and pulled loose. (used brad nailer)
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Another question on using a starter strip to entice the bees into drawing natural comb. Shouldn't one use the large cell foundation to make up the strips rather than small cell? I have seen numerous posts that say in a feral hive the combs are built of several different sized cells starting with large cells at the top working down to small cell near the middle of the comb. If that is true it seems that the bees would find large cell at the top of the frame more natural and build down from there.
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>Shouldn't one use the large cell foundation to make up the strips rather than small cell?
Maybe it won't matter, but I think you'll get smaller cells if you use the small cell starter strips. They will soon be doing whatever they want, but they tend to start the small cell starter strips at about 5.1mm. I doubt they will build smaller with 5.4mm starter strips. A lot of mine are blank starter strips (I make sheets of wax by dipping a wet board). Really I prefer a wooden starter strip (popscicles sticks in the grooves works) or a triangular comb guide. Then you don't coerce them into anything.
> I have seen numerous posts that say in a feral hive the combs are built of several different sized cells starting with large cells at the top working down to small cell near the middle of the comb. If that is true it seems that the bees would find large cell at the top of the frame more natural and build down from there.
Or starting smaller would then get smaller as they go down. Your target is about 4.9mm which is where the Varroa problems go away.