Uncapping wire?

[Martha]

I was on the Beemaster's forum yesterday and someone was looking for a plan to make an uncapping wire.

Now, I have this thing - flashlight tube with 2 D cells, a metal piece that looks kinda like a coping saw and the wire goes from the tube to the end of the coping saw. Simple little swing switch.

I bought it at Hobby Lobby to cut foam insulation sheeting. They have them over by the fake flower section to cut styrofoam. I hate using a razor, it takes several passes and that awful squeek!

Now this foam cutter isn't big enough to cut across a frame. Maybe a shallow with a couple of passes.

Is there one made out there to buy? Or should I go to Home Depot and fine a coping saw? Do the saws even come wide enough to span the frames?

Martha

[Michael Bush]

I think a coping saw only comes in one size. Not sure exactly but it's about six or seven inches.

I've never seen nor heard of a wire like that, but it sounds like it could work. I have a cheese slicer like that.

[tarheit]

I'm sure it would work. The difficult part would be controling the heat. While not cutting it would be prone to overheating and burning honey, and while cutting it would easily get too cool due to it's low thermal mass. Perhaps a controler could be designed to use the changing resistance across the wire (due to temperature) to vary the current maintaining a constant temperature?

[SilverFox]

I use a capping scratcher and a couple of old bread knives I got at goodwill they are also ,the bread knives, part of my hive extracting kit, 10" flexiable blades that are just stiff enough to follow contures of the comb both in the frame and in ferial hives

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'WHEN WE CLOSE OUR EYES WE ALL LOOK THE SAME' GWPW 03

[GaSteve]

I wonder how piano wire attached to a couple of wooden handles would work for uncapping -- something similar to what potters use to cut off slabs of clay. Or maybe hard mount the wire and slide the frames across it. I wouldn't think any heat would be needed. Also, the cheese cutter type of setup with piano wire might cut comb honey cleaner than the stainless steel cutters or knives.

I'll have to add it to my evergrowing list of experiments to do.

[Michael Bush]

About a .008 inch guitar string should do well. You can buy singles at a guitar store.