What is your favorite brand/type of frame ( assembled with foundation )?

[DayValleyDahlias]

Curious to know, I would like to purchase some in a larger quantity, I have 8 frame, and I ordered spacers...

Are there any frames that come assembled with pure beeswax, no plastic?

[ChickenWing]

I don't think that wax foundation will hold up during the rigors of shipping if it is already installed into a frame.  It will warp and/or break if layed on its side, gets hot, gets cold, and bounced around.  So I don't think you will find that.

[Brian D. Bray]

My preference is nothing but medium frame for everything.  I use 8 frame equipment, if I shave it down I might fit 9 in the box.  I let the bees be bees and use starter strips, no wires, and let the bees build the comb within the frame.

[tillie]

Hi Sharon -

it's not that hard to put frames together.  I usually do it in front of the TV - I do think it's hard to use the wedge top and hammer those tiny nails in to hold the foundation - now that I've learned to wax it in, I'll never nail again.  (And I have a lot of wedge top frames - I just wax the foundation strips in instead of breaking off the wedge and hammering it in.

I order them from Dadant but all the companies carry them and Dadant sends the nails with the frames. 

I use a Rubbermaid footstool and assemble the four parts with no nails on top of the stool.  Then I hammer each corner - it doesn't take long unless I'm distracted by whatever movie I'm watching!

Linda T in Atlanta

[Kathyp]

pneumatic stapler/nailer with smaller manual staple gun for the wedge.  takes no time.  saves money.  you can use strips or whole sheets.  kind of fun :-)

[Michael Bush]

>Curious to know, I would like to purchase some in a larger quantity, I have 8 frame, and I ordered spacers...

The Mann Lake PF120's (medium) are nice since they are cheap ($.99 in quantities of 180 or more) and they are small cell (4.95mm).  They are one piece plastic frame and foundation and the pakcage bees have been drawing them very nicely for me.

I also like the foundationless frames I've been buying from Dave W on beesource.  They fit nine to an eight frame box and are the correct dimensions for this.

[DayValleyDahlias]

This is all very helpful information.

Thank you all muchly...it is so new to me, I hope some day it'll be easy as pie...

[DayValleyDahlias]

Oh p.s. what is the name of the material one makes a strip from?  There is thin surplus etc???  Which type for the "make your own"??

Again, Gracias

[Michael Bush]

>Oh p.s. what is the name of the material one makes a strip from?

Starter strips can be made of any kind of foundation plus wood.

> There is thin surplus etc???

Thin surplus is for comb honey.

> Which type for the "make your own"??

"Make your own" what?

[DayValleyDahlias]

> Which type for the "make your own"??

"Make your own" what?

Place your own foundation into a frame...do it yourself...as Linda did with starter strips...

Also, Is brood foundation different than honey foundation?  Are they interchangable?  Or can one use the small cell throughout each portion of the hive?

[tillie]

If I understand your question about "make your own" earlier I was referring to making your own frames.....the foundation you use for the frames is up to you.  If you are going to small cell, that's what you would use.  If you are going to crush and strain or make cut comb honey, you'll not want to wire your foundation. 

Also the size foundation needs to fit the frame you purchase.  I know this is a simple math question, but I have a hard time with it.  I always order online, but I understand that if you use the actual paper catalog, you can see what size foundation to purchase for which frame.  In the end I have never had the actual correct size, but now that I am usually using starter strips, it doesn't matter anyway since I am cutting up the foundation I purchase into smaller sizes.

I did order and put on one of my hives a foundation for cut comb that Michael recommended 7-11 from Walt Kelley.  The foundation is larger than regular foundation cells but smaller than drone foundation - I've only done 4 frames with it so we'll see how it turns out.

On my way up to the mountains this morning I passed the turn off to Lula, GA where Fatbeeman has his apiary and sells SC foundation that he mills with non-chemical wax.  Next time I come up here, I'm stopping and buying some of his.  Actually he teaches an organic beekeeping class the first weekend of every month - so first time I have a first weekend free (I am free the first weekend in June and then not again until October) maybe I'll take his class and report here!

Linda T in Atlanta but now in the beautiful mountains of N Georgia

[Michael Bush]

>Also, Is brood foundation different than honey foundation?  Are they interchangable?

It depends.  First, do you want small cell?  If so, then you can use small cell foundation everywhere.

Or you can use foundationless everywhere.

If you don't want small cell and you have standard brood (5.4mm cell size) sized cells (not 7/11) then you can use thin surplus anywhere, it's just more likely to sag.  But you can extract it, cut it for comb honey or use it for brood.

If you have 7/11 thin surplus, it will not do for brood, as that is the design criteria.  It is a cell size the queen does not like to lay in as it's half way between a drone and a worker size.

If you use drone foundation in your supers, you won't want to use that in the brood chamber either as they will have to rework most of it to get any worker brood.

>  Or can one use the small cell throughout each portion of the hive?

Yes.

[livetrappingbymatt]

i assemble wood frames from dadant,they seem to go togather better than other frames i've bought.
bob

[DayValleyDahlias]

Okay, I think I am catching on...( as I cross my finger )...