[rmaxwell]

I've been transitioning to foundationless frames and would eventually like to get fully to small cell. I've read several places that the center to center spacing should be 1-1/4 inches and you should trim the sidebars down from 1-3/8 which is typical to 1-1/4. I started trimming my bars but then it raised a question in my mind. Will this create difficulty for bees, particularly the queen and drones to move between the top bars into the next hive body? If sidebars are trimmed to 1-1/4 inch, does that not reduce the top bar spacing to 1/4 inch? Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thanks.

 

[rmaxwell]

I thought about slipping the center of the top bars down on the table saw blade to shave about 1/16" off each side near the center. If everyone else is using them "as is" and the bees (queen and drones) have no trouble moving between the top bars, it may not be worth the effort. I feel like the workers will be able to move back and forth without any trouble. I was just worried about placing more barriers for the queen and drones since they are larger and the space between the top bars is more narrow now. Thanks for the feedback. This is my first use of 1-1/4 inch sidebars.