Using Olde Frames

[salvo]

Newbee here!

I bought a bunch of stuff a couple of months ago in preparation for starting to keep bees this spring. I didn't know enough to ask disease type questions. I have since contacted the seller and he explained that there was no disease, but he'd divorced (middle-aged) and stored equipment at father's house because he thought he'd start beekeeping again... He didn't. I am. I'm taking a class, I'm reading, I'm watching videos (vidii??).

The wooden ware I got included two 9 5/8 bodies, six 6 5/8, and six 5 11/16 bodies, and frames for these bodies.

I burned the bodies, as suggested (propolis and dry honey dust is flammable), but my question is about the frames. I was going to toss them and buy new frames, but "searching" forums for "old comb", it seems that the old frames may have a value.

I want to go foundationless. I understand bees are attracted to wax, that a combed frame in the center can "guide" the bees to layout a straighter comb (no guarantees), that "queens like old comb even if it's brittle". The comb I have looks dark and junky to my untrained eye, and it is brittle, but the cells are all empty, nothing dead is in there.

Can I just scrape the comb out of the old frames and attach my "popsicle styx" and use them? Should I save a brittle combed frame for my initial packages?

Salvo

[WPG]

Your own 'old' drawn frames have value.

Someone else's is risky.

Save them till summer and build yourself a solar wax melter and reclaim the wax from the frames and then burn the frames.

The wax has value.
Sell it to your bee supply place, they can send it to be processed.

Start off with new frames. The wedge top bars can be turned and tacked in. No popcycle sticks or paint sticks needed for foundationless.

Later, save your nice yellow cappings wax and make candles.
Or crush and strain(let the bees build new) and have lots of nice wax.

[AllenF]

If you know where the frames came from and if they were disease free, then they are fine to use.   I do.   If you are worried about them, then don't loose sleep over them.   But I think with the odds, you should be ok.

[iddee]

Send me the frames, ""for burning"". I will "burn" them right into my boxes and add bees very quickly.

Just from your post, I can see enough info to say the chance of AFB is less then winning the lottery and getting struck by lightening on the same day.

[AllenF]

 :-D

[Tommyt]

Maybe too early in the morn for me :? you bought box's, and frames with foundation and comb
You burned the box's :shock: now going to scrape the comb and burn the frames :?
Why did you buy this stuff just to make Fire wood out of ??
You can get Good Oak and a Nice glow from burning it,most time its free


Tommyt

[iddee]

I hope he meant scorching the boxes, not actually burning them. If I'm wrong, he sure wasted a sizable chunk of cash.

[D Coates]

At the very least use those frames for swarm traps.

[salvo]

Salvo here.

I just realized what I wrote regarding the boxes. I did simply scorch the insides of the boxes with a fast burning newspaper fire. Someone elsewhere suggested I do this. The boxes cleaned up nicely, and look good with a coat of paint on them. 'Sorry for the miscommunication re: "burn".

The frames are all solid with a crust of stuff on them that scrapes off easily. They are all "wedge top bar" stock, and the wedges can be pryed off easily. There are a few with an aluminum foundation. From what era are they? There are some with plastic foundation. It's very easy in this cold weather to crumble the old stuff away and scrape the frames clear of larger blobs of stuff.

I prefer to try no foundation, and there are many posts that show success without even wire or fishing line supports. I like the thought of new wax, smaller cell size, little or no need for chemicals, happy little bees.

[Kathyp]

the used frames are great for foundationless.   the bees will use the old comb imprint as a start for new comb.  if you were using foundation, i'd say toss them because used frames are really hard to deal with.

can you put your location in your profile?  as time goes by you may want more local info.

[D Coates]

I've never seen aluminum foundation but I've heard it was made in the 40's and 50's.  PLEASE put up some photos of it no matter what you do with it.

[AllenF]

They used tin foundation turn of the century.

[salvo]

Thanks for the discussion.

Very interesting about the "tin-foil", From maybe the 50's or earlier. I'll figure out how to post photos and get one posted.

It seems that there are two trains of thought here. I "trust" the frames. I also get a kick out of the "history" of the frames. So,... I don't have to buy frames for all the boxes, all at once.

Over the next two weeks I'll figure out how I want to configure those boxes for the bees and determine whether the small boxes will even be used this season. But those are questions for another post.

Thanks to all for your input.

[John Adams]

Salvo.... Those may just be Duraguilt foundation. They have a crimp on each end that is metal and may look like an all metal foundation when drawn out. On the duraguilt its maybe just a quarer inch strip. If I was a computer guru I would post a picture of a piece for you to see...maybe somebody will.

[bullship]

They made alum. foundation 40/50s or there about. Works for extracting but don't use to winter with . Alum. draws cold to center of cluster and in this case cold kills.
bullship:

[Countryboy]

I've seen some metal foundations from WWII era, since wax was needed for the war efforts.  What I have seen was actually more like a near fully drawn metal comb, rather than just a metal sheet foundation. 

[salvo]

This is (I hope) a photo of the "tin-foil" foundation.

I crumbled all the old wax off of the foundation. Also there is a full frame with some of the wax cells crumbled to show the tin.

[WPG]

Salvo here.

I did simply scorch the insides of the boxes with a fast burning newspaper fire. Someone elsewhere suggested I do this. The boxes cleaned up nicely, and look good with a coat of paint on them.

Whew!

Glad to hear that. Since I made the suggestion.

I'll conceed on the frames.
If you feel ok with them, sounds like what you're doing will work fine.
And those used frames set up for foundationless are perfect for swarm traps.

Our State Apiarist says A.foulbrood spores are like the cold virus, they're everywhere, so if not heavy signs healthy bees can handle exposure.

Goodluck

[Brian D. Bray]

When scorching used hive boxes, use a blow or propane type torch and char the wood until the grain rises.  Takes about 1 minute per side to do.  The remove char with wire brush and leave the wood grain raised, the bees love it that way.

[Jim134]

salvo.......

PM me if you like for more info but some one from  Plymouth County Bee Assoc.will know to.

http://massbee.org/component/content/article/8-news-item/11-irradition-program


BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)