Frames – The Apiarist

How have I managed to jot down over 450 posts with out having one particularly devoted to the bane of each beekeeper’s life … body constructing?

Really, that’s not fairly appropriate.

It’s generally the bane of my life .

Constructing frames within the peak of the season is usually a quite worrying course of.

I belatedly realise I would like 20 frames for swarm management, or making up new nucs, or just to switch some grotty outdated ones.

I’m in need of time.

I can’t discover the hammer … or the nails … or the muse 🙁

Maybe it’s solely me that’s so disorganised?

However body constructing isn’t at all times like that, and it doesn’t should be like that.

When there’s no rush, when you may have the suitable instruments for the job and the time to do it correctly, it may be fairly a pleasing approach to spend half a day.

And the winter is the time to construct frames, so this appeared a logical time to jot down this publish.

Single use or reuasble?

Frames are a semi-disposable consumable for beekeeping.

Not less than brood frames are. You’ll want new ones throughout swarm management and when making improve. These brood frames ought to then get replaced each 3-4 years, relying upon how darkish and manky they’re getting.

‘Semi-disposable’ as a result of brood frames will be recycled just a few occasions via the steam wax extractor, however ultimately the joints get a bit rickety and they need to be consigned to the range.

Tremendous frames are a bit completely different as a result of they are often reused 12 months after 12 months. I nonetheless have some (frames with drawn comb) in use from my first summer time of beekeeping.

Nonetheless, whether or not I’m making brood or tremendous frames, I construct them in primarily the identical means. I additionally construct my foundationless frames in a broadly related method.

If you happen to construct them correctly they may stay sq. and comparatively inflexible even after a few passes via the steam wax extractor. This makes monetary sense as body prices can rapidly escalate if you’re not cautious.

If you happen to construct them the best way I describe under, you’ll be able to put them via the steam wax extractor, push off the ‘nailed solely’ backside bar, scrape again any remaining propolis and wax, add a recent sheet of basis and refit the underside bar.

Instruments of the commerce

You want someplace with an affordable quantity of house to work and only a few very unspecialised instruments. I like constructing frames within the backyard if it’s heat and dry. The banging is much less intrusive for these indoors.

After all, when you’re (sensibly) constructing them in midwinter – when you may have time and little else to do – then that you must plan issues accordingly i.e. not late within the night, or when the crochet/poker membership are assembly downstairs.

Instruments of the commerce

A pointy knife, a pair of pliers and a small light-weight hammer are the necessities. I exploit a 110 g (4 oz) cross pein hammer, although something related is appropriate. Even when you find yourself utilizing a nail gun for many of the work (see under) you’ll nonetheless want a hammer.

You may be shocked (I used to be) how a lot simpler it’s to construct frames with a small hammer like this.

You don’t want drive …  you want accuracy.

Each body requires 11 nails, so a brood field or super-full of frames will imply you’re going to be utilizing it a minimal of 121 occasions.

So purchase and use a light-weight hammer 🙂

After which, after a thousand frames, purchase a nail gun and ask your self “Why didn’t I do that years in the past?”.

Tacwise nail gun …

The Tacwise mannequin I exploit has labored properly, however I do know some choose a compressed air (quite than ‘lecky) powered gun.

I wasn’t joking after I stated make a thousand frames first. Body constructing is a type of ceremony of passage for a beekeeper. You received’t make higher frames with a nail gun, however you’ll make them quicker (and extra noisily).

I additionally recommend you employ some wooden glue such because the blue indoor/out of doors Evo Stick or the equal stuff from Gorilla.

Of the 2, I choose the Gorilla glue because the nozzle is extra clog-free .

OK … any readers who’ve made just a few hundred frames up already can skip forward to a few of the concluding feedback. You’ll know the entire following … or you need to.

Constructing frames

Get organised first.

Make sure that every part is at hand and logically organized.

Put 100 or so gimp pins (body nails) right into a container that has low sides and a large open prime, ideally fairly heavy. You need them to be straightforward to select up, however not straightforward to vibrate off the worksurface with all of the hammering.

Gimp pins

And, in the event that they do fall off, you solely wish to choose up just a few dozen, not a 500 g field full.

I strongly advocate a Charlie Bigham’s pie container for this objective 🙂

What number of frames do you have to make at a time?

I do them in batches of 10 as that quantity suits on the highest of my Black and Decker Workmate. It’s additionally the variety of sheets of basis in a packet. And it’s a handy quantity to place in a brood field so that you don’t journey over them when constructing the subsequent 10.

I often make 5-10 batches after which hand over from boredom .

Seconds out

It can save you a bit of money by buying second high quality frames within the gross sales. Many of the main suppliers promote them in batches of fifty.

You possibly can count on {that a} small proportion of the body bars may have defects – knots, shakes, splits or warps.

If any of those are vital, and notably if there are defects close to the body lugs or warps or twists within the prime bar, discard them. It would solely be 1-2% of the body bars and it’ll prevent the effort of a damaged lug or an ill-fitting body later within the season.

I learnt this the onerous means, so that you don’t should 😉

Put together the highest bars

• Use the knife to take away the muse retaining wedge from the highest bars. Don’t simply pull the wedge off as they often break.
• Put the muse wedges someplace close by however out of the best way .
• Tidy up the remaining sliver of wooden that’s connected to the highest bar with one other cautious swipe of the knife.
• Lie the highest bars – all in the identical orientation – the other way up on a flat floor.

High bars – lined up and able to go

• Add a small dab of wooden glue to the recess lower into the highest bar the place the facet bars connect. Do each side without delay.

Add the facet bars

• Working down one facet, then the opposite, of the aligned prime bars, push match the facet bars in place.
• Ensure you orientate the facet bars with basis groove on the within .
• They are going to be a good match and don’t fear in the event that they’re not all completely aligned or absolutely pushed down. They must be a good match to make sure that the frames can be sq. as soon as assembled.
• As soon as all of the facet bars are in place, take every body and switch it over, standing on a tough floor and use the hammer to faucet down on the highest bar to ‘seat’ the facet bars correctly. Don’t hit the lug, simply intention for the narrowest a part of the highest bar.

Correctly ‘seated’ facet bar

• Some frames received’t want this, others will want a few sensible faucets to ‘seat’ them correctly.
• Return the frames to the inverted place.

Add the underside bars

• Add a dab of glue to the recess within the facet bars that can take the underside bar above the ‘non wedge’ facet of the highest bar.

Glue for one of many backside bars solely – word the orientation of the highest bar

• Add one backside bar to each body within the glued recesses. If the underside bar is a really tight match then the frames are good high quality. If it’s so tight that the facet bar splits then they aren’t such good high quality.
• A pointy faucet with the hammer on the ends of the underside bar earlier than providing it to the glued recess will make it barely thinner and so it could be simpler to suit.
• It is crucial that the ends of the underside bars are flush with the facet bars. If they aren’t the body will taper and you’ll wrestle becoming the muse.

Examine body alignment

• Examine the alignment of the frames. They need to all be sq., with equal gaps between the underside bars as proven within the photograph above.
• If any are wonky give them a twist to straighten them up.

Nail the frames

• I nail every body in flip, quite than doing all backside bar nails first, then all facet bars. It entails much less body dealing with and so is quicker.
• Use two gimp pins, one either side, to connect the underside bar to the facet bar. Drive the pin in vertically via the underside bar into the tip grain of the facet bar.

Backside bar nailing

• Use 4 pins, two either side, to connect the 2 facet bars to the highest bar. One pin goes via the flat fringe of the facet bar.

One in every of 4 pins attaching the facet bars and the highest bar

• The opposite – assuming you might be utilizing Hoffman self-spacing frames – is pushed via the angled wedge-shaped spacer. Alternatively, some drive it in to the apex of the wedge. Both means works.

And the opposite face of the body

• All of the nails ought to be pushed in flush with the wooden. You don’t want the heads protruding to catch on the hive device when (if) you scrape the frames of propolis.
• Some gimp pins are poor high quality and have ‘spade ends’. These are likely to drive in at bizarre angles and are greatest prevented.

Some good and dangerous gimp pins – the 4 on the left may be difficult to drive in straight

• If the gimp pin does go in at an angle then don’t fear … except it protrudes via the facet bar or into the muse groove.

Wonky pin … rip it out and begin once more

• In these circumstances substitute the pin or you’ll inevitably catch it with the hive device, or rip your vinyl glove on it.

Becoming the muse

I solely match basis shortly earlier than I would like to make use of the frames. Basis is comparatively fragile. It goes brittle within the chilly and develops a white(ish) bloom on the floor which makes it much less enticing to the bees.

If you’re constructing frames within the winter then wait till you want the frames earlier than becoming the muse.

I exploit diagonally wired basis. If you happen to take away a sheet from the packet you will note that there are small or giant loops of wire on the lengthy fringe of the sheet. The big loop goes adjoining to the highest bar of the body, trapped underneath the muse wedge.

• Fold the three giant loops at 90° to the sheet and slide the sheet down the muse grooves within the facet bar in order that the the wire loops lay flat in opposition to the underside of the highest bar.

Placement of the wire loop in opposition to the underside of the highest bar

• Refit the muse edge. You often should squeeze it into the hole between the facet bars, trapping the wire loops beneath it.
• Repair the muse wedge in place with three gimp pins pushed via the wedge and every of the trapped wire loops. This stops the muse from slipping down within the body.

Pin via the muse wedge and the trapped wire loop

• Add the second backside bar to the body. This could not be glued as you need to have the ability to take away it to switch the muse. Simply use one gimp pin at every finish.
• Take care including this second backside bar as there may be (or a minimum of I’ve) a bent to crumple the decrease fringe of the sheet of basis. Push match one finish of the underside bar after which supply it into place by prising it other than the already fitted backside bar, so making house for the muse to suit. You rapidly get the grasp of this after messing up a few sheets of premium high quality basis 🙁

Second backside bar fitted … don’t use glue.

• Some sheets of basis are fractionally too large for the frames. I’ve solely ever used Thorne’s DN/SN4’s and DN/SN5’s – each first and second high quality – and their premium basis, and nonetheless they’re generally too large. In that case lay the muse on a flat floor and lower ~1mm off one of many shorter edges.

Trimming tremendous basis to suit the body

• I believe this poor match is as a result of the sheets of basis ‘stretch’ barely throughout storage . Since I often have to trim down each sheet in a packet I discover I can do 3-4 sheets at a time.

Foundationless frames

I’ve mentioned these intimately earlier than. I exploit lots of them. I don’t have time or house or vitality to justify their use once more right here … I’ve written heaps about their development and use beforehand which I hope ought to reply any questions you may have.

I make these frames in the identical means apart from the addition of a few vertical bamboo helps. These are added after I match each backside bars. I then add again the muse wedge to depart a slim slot into which I glue a easy wood ‘tongue depressor’ starter strip.

Why wooden?

Why not a strip of business basis?

Or a hand crafted wax starter strip?

Or a minimum of a wax-painted wood strip?

As a result of a plain wood strip comprised of a tongue depressor works higher and is much less effort than any of the opposite ‘options’ above.

Take your choose …

And I do know this as a result of I’ve carried out a side-by-side comparability (see above) to find out which the bees preferentially use … and so they merely don’t care.

I made a dozen or so frames up like these above and added them to hives and noticed which of the choices the bees ‘selected’ to attract comb from.

They selected the plain wooden as incessantly as any others … and since that’s the simplest to arrange, that’s what I do.

Let the bees inform you … 😉

Storing frames

If you happen to’re paying full worth for the frames and basis (quite than shopping for in bulk, or shopping for second high quality) a body will value about £3.30.

Take care of them!

Storing 10-20 frames is straightforward … simply put them in empty brood containers. Besides these would possibly get pressed into service throughout swarm management, or to make bait hives, so then the place do you retailer the frames?

Foundationless frames are comparatively straightforward as they’re extra strong than frames with basis. Simply stack them up in a pile and use as wanted.

Bamboo foundationless frames

Ideally do the identical with the constructed frames earlier than you add the muse.

Nonetheless, with slightly ingenuity you’ll be able to devise an answer … right here’s mine.

Body storage

I can retailer a few hundred frames hanging from the shed roof. This has labored properly, however wants an affordable quantity of ‘head house’ – both a excessive roof, or one thing beneath them (like a bench, or in my case a canoe) that stops you from strolling/standing straight under them.

Listed below are some I made earlier

I’m positive there are many different equally good options …

Last ideas

If you happen to use a nail gun to assemble frames don’t use it for the second of the underside bars (aside from for foundationless frames). The gun drives the nails in deep and they’re very tough to take away. Connect the unglued second backside bar with gimp pins as described above.

Nailed …

I exploit 20 mm 18g nails for the nail gun.

The nail gun hastens body constructing.

It will probably get fairly aggressive … can I construct the subsequent 10 frames in much less time than it took the final 10?

Come on .. give me a break. It’s the winter and I would like some type of leisure to get me via the darkish days till I’m beekeeping once more 😉