Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Does "Large Cell" Beekeeping work?

51K views 245 replies 40 participants last post by  rwurster 
#1 ·
Does "Large Cell" Beekeeping work?
I have only used sc foundation but if there is proof that LC is better I might be willing to experiment. ;)

If there's no clear advantage I'll just stick with what I've been doing... :)
 
#92 ·
>if honey bees naturally form a smaller cell, why is most foundation designed to encourage larger cells? What is the advantage of larger cells?

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm#baudoux1893

>>i like michael bush's tag line:
>>"everything works it you let it"
>Yes; If you let your bees die, they die.

Odd. Mine did not die...
 
#93 ·
>if honey bees naturally form a smaller cell, why is most foundation designed to encourage larger cells? What is the advantage of larger cells?

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm#baudoux1893

>>i like michael bush's tag line:
>>"everything works it you let it"
>Yes; If you let your bees die, they die.

Odd. Mine did not die...
I think we can all agree that there are oddities with varroa that arent fully understood. I also think it is quite fair to state that there have been successes in being treatment free and also failures and that no one fully understands why that is.
 
#94 ·
I also think wee can all agree that it is quite fair to state that there have been successes in using chemical and drug treatments and also failures and that no one fully understands why that is.

Whether one treats, or whether one doesn't, some lose hives, and some don't.

It's almost as if everything works if you let it.
 
#95 ·
As Barry knows from the part I made him , there is a middle ground covered by both lathes and mills, where the work is indexed, or moved in conjunction with another axis. I often turn things like threads on my mill.

That aside, the image I saw of Mr. Olm's machine was of a cylinder that could be indexed, and a set of knives above that where angled to cut the cell bottoms.

It should also be noted that the material in the final product of Mr. Olm's mill is soft, and appears to be similar to Linotype material.

yes, I am collection pieces to cut a foundation mill to reproduce the size generated by the one my great Grandfather had(now in Cassville museum).
Crazy Roland
 
#97 ·
I often turn things like threads on my mill.
Of course, a machine doesn't know what it is, for instance a shop smith. But the operations done in any machine are defined. If you are milling threads then it is a milling operation and if you are turning threads then it is a lathe operation. What is the difference? When you turn something the workpiece rotates into a stationary tool and when you mill something the tool moves and usually the workpiece is stationary or very very slowly indexing. It is not called turning when a milling cutter is removing the material. When you attach a grinding wheel to a lathe and remove material that way it is referred to as grinding not turning in a lathe.
You are not going to "turn" and embossed pattern in a lathe.
 
#103 ·
He is a cut and paster and doesn't know much about machine tools.
OK, Ace, Machine Tool Expert, can you explain why you told us that that foundation rollers in the 1800s were made by CNC and/or EDM machines, which did not exist until the latter part of the 20th century?

Its there for all to see in your post #73, and reproduced below for your convenience. :D

I would imagine making such a thing w/ great accuracy might be more difficult than making a Frederick Remington original cast figure. Does anyone know how they were originally made in the mid 1800s?

There are two process that I know of for making rotary dies, CNC milling and EDM. These are specialized machines and very precise. Yes Oldtimer when you come around the other side it has to be a perfect match. This is the problem with the pitch dia of the gears.
 
#105 ·
Yes, in my "previous life" I made top of the line, handmade orchestral flutes and piccolos. I designed/made tooling, jigs, etc, in addition to the handwork. Did some work in the medical device field as well....I'm very good with a lathe, not as much experience milling. Currently I have only a small Chinese lathe, but I'm very impressed with its performance, especially for the price.

deknow
 
#107 ·
I'm very good with a lathe, not as much experience milling.
deknow
Seems we have yet another thing in common. I inherited a lathe from my father in law, who had spent most of his life working as a "turner", for Rolls Royce, in Derbyshire, but he came to NZ to join his daughter in his retirement. He shipped over his lathe and other tools from his home workshop, watching him use it was beautiful. Anything lathe, he could make it. I tried to learn off him, but of course nothing I do can match his 40 years of experience.
 
#109 ·
Rader, yer Sidetracking. Brian answers the questions he thinks he hears. People get after me for correcting peoples spelling, saying "You know what they meant. What does it matter how they spelled it." So, maybe we should just let this go and understand it as the way Brian addresses things, outside the Post. :) lol
 
#112 ·
I don't think there is an active member of beesource that has never said something with complete authority and been obviously mistaken. With that said, no, I do not believe that Acebird was claiming that mills built in the 1800's were built with cnc machines and edm equipment (and the edm electrodes would likely be cnc machined). I don't think that he believes in some steampunk CNC treadle powered machine with an abacus to input the tool path.

deknow
 
#124 ·
Well, I have serious doubts that Brian is really as dysfunctional as the picture painted by Mark above. And this post will deliberately have no annoying quotes, and no animated emoticons.

Ace, lets make a deal. For your part, you will take an extra moment to review and think twice about what you are writing before you click the Post Reply button. And in return, I will hold back from dredging up conflicting/embarrassing past comments that you may have made.

Its not necessary for you to respond here for us to proceed with this arrangement, just simply avoid posting more "Aceisms", as Barry described them.
 
#131 ·
we don't know for sure.

i 'm guessing small cell might give some advantage, but it's not the only factor among many others all of which added together determine the final outcome.

many have found ways to successful off treatments with standard cell, and some have found small cell does not guarentee success off treatments.

i'll consider it if all else fails, which so far, it hasn't.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top