Frames wiring device

Hello Rand, yes the wiring can be intimidating. I see on one of your photos a roll with wire. I have something similar that I made myself. Mine is on a longer board with the roll near the end. The end of the board is cut on a 45 degree onto which I have screwed a thin piece of plywood that, with a small amount of tension, rests on the wire. This will prevent the wire rolling back and becoming a "birds nest." On the frames I put the two small fastening nails in first and let them stick out so I can twist the wire around them. I thread the wire through all the holes, (I assume you are using eyelets?) When I am at the end nail I twist the wire, hammer the nail all the way into the wood and then tension the first section with my fingers and make a sharp bend at the first hole. From there I tension again and make a sharp bend at the other end and so on until you can wind the wire around the last nail. Drive it in and cut the wire. You will still not have much tension and that is the problem. I have, after looking at Michael Bush's pages, found a crimper plier with two toothed wheels that he had modified but mine works fine with the original plastic handles. Maybe you can find something similar there in Israel. For me that is the best idea and it tightens the wires wonderfully. There are some methods where the sides of the frames are being pressed together during the wiring and then released to achieve tension. I have never tried this so I cannot comment. Hope this helps some, take care and have fun

Might want to try reading here...
http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/BEEKEEP/CHAPT2/chapt2.html



Making and using a frame-wiring board. (Picture of plans) A frame-wiring board is used to install horizontal wires in frames. These tightly drawn wires serve as supports for comb foundation and the comb constructed from it. The board is basically a jig in which a frame can be held firmly with the end bars or bottom bar under tension while special frame wire is threaded into place. A well-designed wiring board should make it relatively easy to thread the wire, to tighten it in the frame, and to fasten it in place. Releasing the frame from the board should further tighten the wire in the frame.

As seen in the construction plan on page 40, the base of the wiring board is a piece of 3/4-inch-thick plywood. Beneath it are three cleats also of the same or similar lumber. Two cleats extend beyond the edges of the board and are drilled so that the board can be fastened firmly in place while it is being used. The L-shaped blocks at the front of the board are spaced so that the inside corners of the L's are 19 inches apart. They hold the frame top bar. The bottom bar fits into the wooden channel at the rear of the board. The channel has blocks at each end, 17-3/4 inches apart, to keep the frame from moving laterally. The overhanging lip of the channel, 1-1/2 inches above the board, keeps the bottom bar from moving upward. There is a thin strip of wood approximately 1/8 inch thick and 1-1/2 inches wide on the base board between the end blocks. This piece levels the frame in the jig.

In the center of the board is a clamping device made of 1/2 X 1/8-inch strap iron. The device consists of two arms riveted to a central lever that is bolted to the board. The rivets are centered 5/8 inch from the center of the bolt. The rear arm is about 9 inches long, the front one is 9-1/2 inches, and each is bent upward an additional 1/2 inch. The central lever is about 12-1/2 inches long. Tile arms slide through, but are kept in place by, wooden blocks near their midpoint. With I the lever pulled to the left, the bent ends of the arms are far enough apart to accept a frame between them, about 17-3/4 inches wide. As the lever is moved to the right, the arms move inward, squeezing the end bars of the frame. A sheet metal catch attached to the base board holds the lever at the point where it exerts enough pressure to bend the end bars slightly inward but not so much that it damages the frame. The sheet metal catch has a 1/2-inch-wide notch in the center of a 3/16-inch-wide vertical lip. This notch accepts and holds the clamping lever. The catch has elongated holes through which it is bolted to the base. It call be moved right or left to adjust the tension of the clamping lever. Tile clamping device is the most difficult part of the wiring board to make. It should be done last so that its size and location will fit the frame properly. The bolt that holds it to the base should be about midway between the frame ends and about 5-1/2 inches from the front edge of the base.

The spool of frame wire is driven onto a splined crankshaft so that the wire can be held taut after it has been threaded through the frame. The shaft is supported and held in place by two wooden endpieces. A piece of wooden dowel oil a sturdy-but-flexible, U-shaped wire keeps the frame wire from unreeling when it is not being used. The frame wire passes through a metal screw eye that puts it in line with the top hole in the end bar. When the wire is being threaded into a frame, it passes around three spools, or 1-1/4-inch lengths of 1-inch dowel or other wooden rod. The spools are located outside of, and 1/2 inch from, the frame end bars and are mounted so that they turn freely. Those on the left are centered between each pair of holes in the end bar. The one on the right is centered between the middle pair of holes.

The board is designed primarily for wiring full-depth (9-1/8-inch) frames, but can be adapted for wiring Dadant-depth (6-1/4-inch) frames. In place of the metal clamping device, which will not fit the smaller frame, a special adapter block is used to hold and compress the shallower frame. The block can be seen in the drawing on the right rear corner of the board, where it is stored when not in use. The block is I inch high, 41/4 inches long, and I inch wide at the widest point of the curved edge. A 1-1/8-inch-square piece of Masonite or other hardboard extends 1/8 inch beyond the curved side. This special block is mounted just to the rear of the metal clamping device, approximately in the location indicated by the dotted lines on the figure. The exact position must be determined by placing a 6-1/4-inch frame in place and marking the outside edge of the bottom bar. Fasten the curved edge of the block about 3/16 inch inside that line (toward the front of the board). The block will then press the bottom bar inward when the frame is pushed into place. When the frame is removed after being wired, the resiliency of the wood adds tension to the wire.

To wire a full-depth frame, place it on the board and fasten the metal clamp. Drive a wire nail into the upper edge of the right end bar just above the top and bottom holes. Leave the heads of the 3/4-inch nails about 1/8 inch above the wood. Thread the wire through the top hole of each end bar, around the spool, and back across the frame. After threading it in this manner through all eight holes, wind the end of the wire tightly around the nail nearest the bottom bar, drive the nail in, and twist off the excess wire. Pull the wire off the spools and crank the excess back onto the spool of wire. Starting on the bottom section of wire where it is fastened, run your fingers along the wire, pulling it toward you. At the left end of the frame transfer your fingers quickly to the next section of wire, pulling the slack from it and from the lower wire. Follow this procedure on each wire while cranking excess wire back onto the spool. Try to get all wires tight enough to make a high note when plucked. You will have to learn how much pressure you can apply without breaking the wire. When you are satisfied with the amount of tension in the wire, grasp it just outside the end bar beneath the upper nail and wind the wire around the nail while keeping it tight in the frame. Drive in the nail and twist the wire to break it off. The same general system is also used for Dadant-depth frames