Frame building - pro tips ?

[greengumbo]

So i've a big stack of frames arriving soon (well big for me....Calluna might scoff!). Langstroth deep + unwired foundation.

In the past I have just pootled along making 10 frames here and there but figured this year I need to get a bit more serious.

So i've bought a nice 15mm brad gun but thats about the sum of my prep. Do people use jigs ? They dont look like huge time savers to me on various youtube vids. I've always used fishing line but open to suggestions. Not got a wire heater but could whizz one up no probs if thats an option.

Anyway this thread for frame building tips and and vids you find useful. I realise this is usually a winter pursuit but I'm a disorganised type.:cool:

[Jon]

I have a 15mm gun and a 25mm as well. Bargain stuff from Lidl. I think the 15mm gun cost about a tenner.
I use Hoffman frames and 25mm is better for nailing on the side bars.
The 15mm is good for the rest.

[prakel]

I've always used fishing line but open to suggestions.

Stainless wire. ANYTHING else is a false economy.

[fatshark]

For the sort of amateur-level assembly I do, a nail gun (25mm) and just a bit of space and organisation works well ... I tend to do 50-100 in a sitting. Once you get into the swing of things it's quite therapeutic. No jig, but a clear work area and a fixed routine - all orientated the same way etc. You can get through them very quickly, perhaps 10 in 10 minutes?

For foundationless I've always used mono, but can see the attraction of SS. The mono stretches in the steam extractor, so needs re-'wiring' to re-use them. I tend to chuck 'em out.

However ... I wouldn't want to do a thousand like this ... so there are only two other options:


But them pre-built by the container load - over to you, C4U
Press-gang your son ... 5p/frame perhaps, in lieu of rent?

[Jon]

Press-gang your son ... 5p/frame perhaps, in lieu of rent?


Ever thought of setting up a business putting small boys up chimneys to clean them?
Lottery grants may be available.

[Neils]

Just ring the job centre and say your name is Tesco, you can probably ask for a minion who'll have to do it for nothing in exchange for JSA.

[madasafish]

I assemble in a home made jig using a Lidl £9.99 nail gun. Langstroth jumbos.. Glue top bars. SS wire.

On a Workmate .
But this year I've only done 100 or so .. amateurish..

[prakel]

Foundation: we trim the sheets down slightly; if using solid bottom bars it definitely pays to have the foundation hanging slightly short to stop buckling but we also take a little off one side and then centre the sheet which hepls break the foundation barrier running through the centre of the clustering wax builders.

Nail Guns: we've been longtime converts to using nail guns (almost twenty years) but something which has become apparent over the last few years is that a lot of the early frames we did with the gun are now failing due to the nails rusting out. Not sure if it was simply poorer quality nails than we get today or whether this'll prove to be an ongoing issue. Being poor, I hate throwing away frames (so they get cut down to mating nuc size :)) but it's hard to dismiss the obvious time saving of using a gun. There may possibly be scope in using resin coated nails although the initial outlay will be higher.

[greengumbo]

Foundation: we trim the sheets down slightly; if using solid bottom bars it definitely pays to have the foundation hanging slightly short to stop buckling but we also take a little off one side and then centre the sheet which hepls break the foundation barrier running through the centre of the clustering wax builders.

Nail Guns: we've been longtime converts to using nail guns (almost twenty years) but something which has become apparent over the last few years is that a lot of the early frames we did with the gun are now failing due to the nails rusting out. Not sure if it was simply poorer quality nails than we get today or whether this'll prove to be an ongoing issue. Being poor, I hate throwing away frames (so they get cut down to mating nuc size :)) but it's hard to dismiss the obvious time saving of using a gun. There may possibly be scope in using resin coated nails although the initial outlay will be higher.

Good advice. And for wiring with SS do you tighten with a nail on the side bar, like I've noted in a few vids ? Then lay flat and heat with wire ?

[prakel]

for wiring with SS do you tighten with a nail on the side bar, like I've noted in a few vids ? Then lay flat and heat with wire ?

Yes, that describes our plan pretty well. We do have a little jig to help with the tensioning (Manley/Honey Farming describes the idea quite well).

One thing we don't use (and you don't mention) is the silly little wire crimping device that all the traders seem to sell as a necessary part of the frame wiring tool kit. Another beekeeping toy.

edit: on reflection I think that Manley possibly described his wiring board in Beekeeping in Britain, not Honey Farming.

[Black Comb]

I like the crimper. The wax seems to stick better to the wire.
But I'm not making many so have time to play.

[madasafish]

Yes, that describes our plan pretty well. We do have a little jig to help with the tensioning (Manley/Honey Farming describes the idea quite well).

One thing we don't use (and you don't mention) is the silly little wire crimping device that all the traders seem to sell as a necessary part of the frame wiring tool kit. Another beekeeping toy.
I use needle pliers to tighten the wire on the sides. Works a treat..