[jtcweb]

I got 20 of the foundationless frames from Kelly Bees. The were nice enough to include the nails, however since I have both a air brad nailer and stapler. Can anyone guide me on what to use with air? Same lenght brad as they supply? Would staples work better? I plan on glueing them as well

 

[jsharum]

one inch or 1 1/4 inch staple will hold great

 

[mrspock]

Lacking both time and a brad nailer, I just glued mine with Titebond.

I'm crossing my fingers that the comb itself will hold it together for centrifugal extraction.... Otherwise I'll just fall back to crush and strain and remake the frames.

 

[honeybeekeeper]

1 1/4" brad nails work! and when you drive a brad nail from the side, make sure its at a slight angle so it wont come out the other side. While your purchasing brad nails gets you some 5/8 brads as well. If you ever use the WTB (wedge top bar) the 5/8" brads works great for that assembly! When i purchased my brad nailer i pretty much stocked up and got a variety of sizes, you will always use them for something! Specially the 1 1/4" brads if you make most of your own equipment!

 

[StevenG]

If you want your frames to last, use both nails/brads/staples AND glue!

 

[NasalSponge]

I use a crown stapler with 1 1/4" staples + titebond 3.

 

[Jerry Kinder]

I nailed mine with the provided nails along with Tightbond this spring and now the nails are rusting. They seem to be holding fine, but should I worry about the rust? And what can I do to stop this on others that I may build? I didn't paint the frames. Am I suppose to?

 

[mike haney]

1."...They seem to be holding fine..."
the nails only hold it till the glue dries. properly applied, titebond is stronger than the wood.
2.'... but should I worry about the rust..."
nope,they'll be fine
3."...Am I suppose to?..."
no paint inside the hive.
good luck,mike

 

[Countryboy]

I nailed mine with the provided nails along with Tightbond this spring and now the nails are rusting.

Are these frames in storage, or are they in a hive? If they are in a hive, I'd be trying to figure out why there was such a moisture problem in the hive - and why the bees hadn't covered the frames and nails with propolis. The bees usually do that quickly, and that seals up the frames.

 

[Jerry Kinder]

The frames are in the hive and well drawn for the most part. The nail heads that are rusting are on top. They were covered with a green wash when I got them, probably one of the things to keep them from backing out, but I don't think it's the same as the nail gun plastic coating, this stuff was rougher as I recall. I'll just rub the rust off and smear some propolis on them next time I'm in the boxes. The rust seems to be on about 1/3 of the nails. Probably the ones I didn't hit square when driving them in. That’s a good idea putting propolis on them, I'll see how it works.

 

[Countryboy]

I'll just rub the rust off and smear some propolis on them next time I'm in the boxes. That’s a good idea putting propolis on them, I'll see how it works.

I'm too lazy to do it myself. I let my bees put propolis on everything.

Bees should be 'painting' the entire interior surface of the hive, frames, etc with a thin coat of propolis.

is it just a weak hive and the bees aren't covering all the frames? As soon as the bees cover a frame, it's normal for them to coat it and seal it with propolis.