Removing old plastic foundation to put in SC starter strips

[tillie]

For the life of me this isn't obvious, so I dread how obvious the response to this will be....

I took out the frames of plastic foundation that my bees used last year to replace them with starter strips of SC. (These are plastic foundation in grooved frames)  I can't figure out how to get the plastic foundation out of the frame.  They snapped in when new but are now deepened with wax attaching to the wood frame and I can't see my way clear as to how to remove the old foundation.

Do I use an exacto knife and cut it out? 
Would it be more cost/time effective just to buy new frames?

Surely there's a way to do this that I just can't figure out....

Linda T befuddled in Atlanta

[Robo]

If they are grooved top bars and not wedged, then you may be able to scape all the wax off and bend it to try and pop it out.  Otherwise you may have to cut it.  If it were me,  I would get new frames, you could still use the plastic for honey supers even if you are going to small cell.  If it is drawn comb,  you can probably sell the frames and buy the new empty frames and still have some coins left.

How many you got??  I'll trade you for new empty frames  ;)

[Michael Bush]

Push hard.  It will pop out.

[tillie]

I knew the answer would be obvious!

Actually I found that I had some unused deep frames with the plastic in it and could easily pop those out so at the moment I have six for each hive - with the four frames of nuc to fill the rest of the box. 

I'll have to work to get out several built up foundation pieces for the ongoing hive, but I have six empty frames to put starter strips in for it as well.

And my finger only bled once from "pushing hard"    :'(

Linda T

[Michael Bush]

:( Sorry about that.  You need to push right in the middle.  Use a tool to do so if you have to.

[AllanJ]

Where did you get the starter strips of SC?

[tillie]

I ordered small cell foundation from Dadant and then cut it into strips with my rotary cutter - see this post:

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=8193.0

Linda T

[tillie]

"pushing hard" actually works.  I first ran a putty knife (Michael Bush said I might need to use a tool to help me) along both sides of the foundation to break the connection to the bottom (narrow) bar.  Then I sort of bent the bottom bar as I pushed and lo and behold the foundation popped out - some more pushing followed and the rest of the foundation freed up from the frame and I had empty frames for my SC starter strips.

Here are pictures:

I'm taking my own picture, so I am holding both the putty knife and the hammer in one hand, the camera in the other - you realize that in real life I held the putty knife in one hand and hammered with the other.



Having run the putty knife on both sides of the foundation and having hammered in the center with the hammer against the putty knife against the foundation, I pushed hard and the foundation popped out of the frame.  A little more pushing and the foundation was out of there.



I put the popped out large cell drawn comb foundation into a bag to take to my bee club to give to anyone there who would like drawn comb from good bees:



Linda T - grateful for all of Michael's suggestions!