Queen excluder

[nemphlar]

I have a load of old zinc excluders and would like to upgrade to the wire type. Rather than squander my life savings on a dozen wire types at £20/ea I thought of trying the similarly shaped plastic excluder at £4.50/ea. has anyone tried these?

[Jon]

I have about 20 of the plastic ones. I like them but a lot of people prefer framed excluders.

[nemphlar]

Jon
Mine are on smiths so I was looking at what I thought would be the more rigid round wire shaped plastic types I'd seen on thornes I wondered if they would be rigid enough

[brecks]

I have made wooden frames for some of mine or just glued / stapled a piece of bottom bar (or similar wood) to the middle so it is at right angles to the frames - that way there is no sagging in the middle. Also, they can be easily cut into small sections to use at entrances to hives / nucs etc.

[Little_John]

I've never been convinced that a full-width Q/X is always necessary. So - if you fancy making your own 'bee-friendly' Q/X's - simply cut out the centre section of a crown board and string a few lengths of s/s TIG wire across the hole.

To get the spacing accurate, I make mine on an inclined board (about 10 degrees is fine), and lay down one wire across the hole, followed by several pairs of 2p coins, then the next wire, and so on, with the incline holding the coins gently against each wire ....
The copper-plated steel coins now issued by The Mint have a thickness of 2.05 mm which in theory gives a wire spacing of 4.10 - but in practice I find that the gap turns out to be 4.16 mm - as our American friends say, "go figure ...".

Abrade just the end few mm of the wire to give the glue something to grip onto, and secure with 5min epoxy.

For an unsupported wire length of (say) 4 - 6", 1.6 mm TIG wire is sufficient, for longer lengths, I'd use 2.0 mm
Stainless TIG wire can be sourced on Ebay in 1 metre lengths, for about £12-15 a kilo - if memory serves (so don't rely on this ...) - I think you get something like 64 metres of 1.6 wire in a kilo.

With care, the end result eclipses anything commercially available at sensible money (otherwise I couldn't be arsed making 'em).

LJ

[HJBee]

I have about 20 of the plastic ones. I like them but a lot of people prefer framed excluders.

I've started using some plastic ones I got from Thornes sale at much cheapness, better quality (as they are more rigid) than other plastic ones I've seen used, easier to clean off propolis and wax than the framed excluder I have for sure.

My my Little John, seems a lot if work goes into yours!

[Jon]

Also, they can be easily cut into small sections to use at entrances to hives / nucs etc.

All sorts of used for them, especially with apideas.
I have bought these for as little as £2 in the Thorne sales

1993 1994 1995 1996

[Little_John]

My my Little John, seems a lot if work goes into yours!

Well, I first starting making them when I found that queens were managing to squeeze through the commercial jobs I had - which left me a bit gob-smacked. Bit pointless having them really ... False sense of security an' all that.

Then I looked at Dave Cushman's site to discover that the variation in spacings on commercial Q/X's are all over the place. So I decided to make my own 'precision' Q/X's from stainless wire, which has to be the best material for the job, bar none.

Like many jobs, the first time you make one it takes ages to figure out the best way of proceeding - but now I've got it down to a fine art: I cut up the wire, set up the jig, and then fit 2 or 3 wires each time I'm waiting for glue to set or paint to dry on something else I'm making - so it really doesn't cost me anything at all in terms of time. The cost of materials isn't much either - and I know that I can rely on the Q/X doing it's job. And they'll last a lifetime (or even longer) ... :)

LJ

[busybeephilip]

Funny, I was just searching the web this morning to see if I could find somewhere that sells thin metal (old zinc) or plastic excluders the same thickness the same that fits between the feeder and the frames of an apidea. Could only find a moulded piece for all the red parts at around £2.70 too dear for what I want.

I considered cutting slots in coke cans but can only find a 4mm slot drill and it sounds a bit fiddly

A small mini wire excluder might do me if thin enough, can you tell us how you are arranging the spacing - I assume you are using somewhere between 4 to 4.3mm between wires.

[gavin]

... can you tell us how you are arranging the spacing ...

Courtesy of the Royal Mint I read.

[Little_John]

Even better - here's a thread I started ("in another place", as they say in Parliament):
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=25976
which shows the small Q/X's being made for the Morris Board which I built some time ago.

There's a mistake in the text re: thicknesses - steel 2p's are actually 2.05 mm thick, and bronze 2p's are 1.85 mm.
(They changed the thickness so that the weight has stayed the same - for slot machines, presumably)

But, as already said, using 2 x steel 2p's results (in practice) in a gap of 4.16 mm. I must have used some other combination of coinage to get 4.06/4.08 mm (but can't remember how, now) - but it was a tad tight for the girls, whereas 4.16 is proving ok.

LJ

[busybeephilip]

Yeh..realized Little Jon had described the procedure above, excitement got the better of me!

[busybeephilip]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=25976
which shows the small Q/X's being made for the Morris Board which I built some time ago.

Just had a look at this link - perfect, just what I want - need to find a load of 2ps and TIG wire

[nemphlar]

Thanks for the comments, I'll be giving the plastic a try.
I must have some tig rods about somewhere and will try LJ's homemade QE. Any feel an acceptable size of cut out for the clearer board.
I might have missed it but is that araldite?

[Little_John]

I might have missed it but is that araldite?
Ah - I remember Araldite (tm).

... back in the days when it was one of the few brands of epoxy certified for use on aircraft - but sadly, no longer. The product changed hands, and so did the formulation (it used to produce a creamy-coloured mix, but the newer stuff, being targeted at the domestic consumer, is transparent) ... and then the price shot up !

For small but important jobs such as this one, I use "Wilko's" finest 5 min goop - about £3 a pack(?) - plenty good enough.

For anything which is really undemanding, I use "151" (a dual syringe product) from the local 'Pound' shop - which is exactly what it costs. But the price to be paid for such a low price (did you get that ?) is that this glue sets glass hard, and it's brittleness can cause failure on any joint subjected to vibration or shock.

So - I'd use Wilkinson's goop (or similar), if there's a branch near you.

If anyone does decide to use this s/s wire idea - don't forget to abrade the end few mm's of each wire (or put a couple of hammer marks there) to give the glue something to grip on, as s/s wire is hellishly smooth - this being why it's so good for a q/x, in eliminating (or at least minimising) any wing damage.