>One point that you might be able to help me with is Housel positiioning. I have read Dee's papers on it, and chatted with her via her board, but something's not clicking. I find her writing style confusing to my old brain! She has ton's of great information, just haven't been able to get my head around it yet.
It is a bit complex and, I hate to make it worse, but reality is even more complex.
Her explaination in the "news" section of this is on this link:
http://www.beesource.com/pov/lusby/housel.htm
And in summary is stated that natural combs are oriented in this way:
YI^,YI^,YI^,YI^,^I^,^IY,^IY,^IY,^IY
(where "Y" is a rigth side up letter "Y" and ^I is an upside down letter "Y") Apparently, first you want to understand what she is saying. Part of the confusion here is from what side you're looking at it and WHAT it is you're looking at. You are looking at the figure in the bottom of the cell outline. This figure is formed by the walls on the oppisite side of the comb.
So if you are standing on one side of the hive looking at the first frame (closest to you) the bototm of the cells (as you hold it to the light) have a right side up "Y" in them. If you walked around to the other side of the hive and looked from that side it would have an inverted "Y" in the bottom of the cell.
The point being that there is a right and left side to foundation and, therefore, to the combs built on them.
My confusion, when first exposed to the idea, was on the center comb. If we are dealing with "Y" and inverted "Y" then there is ALWAYS a right and left and Dee's description of the center comb is that it is the same from both directions. She finally explained that if you turned the foundation 90 degrees it would be the same as the center comb. After several observations of natural comb I agree with this. But I would not describe it as a "Y" or an inverted "Y" but rather a sideways "Y". The bar goes to the right and is the same viewed from either direction.
My observations of natural comb would not support that all of the rest of the combs are "Y" or inverted "Y" but rather various orientations that vary from comb to comb and even from one place on a comb to a different place on the same comb. But all of the rest of the combs are NOT oriented the same as the center comb.
However, for the purposes of using manufactured foundation, I have adopted the housel positioning as the best I can do with foundation, with one exception. I have made a center comb by turning the foundation 90 degrees. It takes two sheets to go the whole width and leaves a seam in the middle but it makes the correct orientation for a center comb. With the Dadant plastic 4.9mm foundation this works very well. I'm using it in Dadant Deep frames in an experimental horizontal hive right now.
PermaComb actually had the inverted "Y" from both sides, I believe because the walls on one side line up with the walls on the oppisite side and the bottom of the cell is not based on the walls on the oppisite side. It has no orientation because it's the same from both sides.
I mark my top bars with a "Y" so that if I were to stand looking at the frame and then tip it so I'm looking at the top from that side the "Y" is in that orientaion. In other words, if I turned it around and looked at the top it would be inverted and so would the bottom of the cell from that side.
So did I help? Or add to the confusion? Did I cover the part you were confused about?