Cutout/tying comb

[deknow]

thought i'd post this here.

last week, ramona and i did a fairly easy cutout:


i didn't have time to put together "swarm ketching frames" (as dee lusby uses...1/2 width frames with horizontal wires...comb is sandwiched between 2 1/2 frames and they are stapled together), so i quickly put together the style that i saw jim tew use in a video:


more detailed pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Dean.Ramona/TewFrame#

deknow

[honeyman46408]

That is the best idea I have seen for tieing comb without useing the "catch" frames GOOD JOB

[deknow]

yeah, i like it too...i'll have to look up the data on the video so i can credit it properly. the real key is the rubber band...this avoids having to tie a knot and keep the string taut.

dee's "swarm ketching frames" are better for piecing together several smaller combs on one frame (she does cutouts from flowerpot style traps, so lots of small combs), but if you are working with larger single combs (this colony had setup shop in an old, walled over stove vent pipe section...9 round combs perpendicular to the pipe), this is pretty fast.

one could modify it by putting hooks on the underside of the topbar closer to the center widthwise so that it would hold the comb more tightly, but the real beauty of this is the simplicity...if you have string, nails, rubber bands, and frames, you are all set...and once the bees build out the comb, you only have some small nails that do not interfere with the frame spacing.

btw, more pics of the cutout at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Dean.Ramona/Cutoutdevins#
...i'll shoot some more pics of the colony now (perhaps today), with some kind of comb size gauge...the cells and the bees were quite small.

deknow

[deknow]

also, these were frames for foundationless, so they also had popsicle stick comb guides. 3 days after the cutout, they had the comb mostly attached via the combguides (and in the center of the frames).

don't know if the guides help, hurt, or are benign...i wouldn't have bothered with them if i were building them specifically for tying up comb.

deknow

[honeyman46408]

the real key is the rubber band...this avoids having to tie a knot and keep the string taut.

Yes I saw the rubberband and the PC sticks.

...i'll have to look up the data on the video so i can credit it properly

I wont ell if you dont I dont have orginal ideas but like to try to burn good ones into the hard head drive.

[deknow]

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228503

You can see progress the cutout is making, and more.

deknow

[chief]

I like your idea but I take it one or two steps further to simplify. I just use rubber bands. That way all you need is an empty frame and some rubber bands. No string, nails, or preassembly required. You just put the rubber bands around the frame vertically. You can use as many or as few as you need. The bees will chew them out but not until they have attached the comb securely to the frame.

[deknow]

the difference here is that you can simply lay the frame horizontal (with the bottom side already strung), place/trim the comb to fit the frame, and then string up the top.

rubber bands certainly work, but this requires less fussing with the comb.

deknow

[honeyman46408]

rubber bands certainly work, but this requires less fussing with the comb.

ditto

[chief]

Just my two cents again but I found that string was a hassle when your gloves/hands are sticky with honey. They need to invent honey repellant for gloves. I mostly use mediums so it is easy to find rubber bands that fit around the frame with little hassle. I put two or three rubber bands on each frame bunched up at each end before I start the cutout. It is then easy to fit the comb and slide the rubber bands into place. I have also found that the rubber bands don’t stretch or get loose. This holds the comb in place better than string and I end up with less sagging comb. Again it’s just my preference and what I consider a much simpler way to do cut outs than building special frames with hinges, staples, wires, nails, strings, strings with rubber bands, etc.

[honeyman46408]

but I found that string was a hassle when your gloves/hands are sticky with honey

When I find my hands stick I find folding frames that I build the EZiest or a frame that I can lay the comb in

[Durandal]

When I do cut-outs I use silicone gloves and have a 5 gallon bucket of water to drop tools in and wash hands. Its amazing how much more simple that makes things.

I have also used catch frames like this. I been filming building them to do a second video. The first shows them in use and cutting the brood to match the frame:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAjtYKWXnOc

[Michael Palmer]

but I found that string was a hassle when your gloves/hands are sticky with honey.

So take off your gloves. d:-)