Assembling a Simple Frame

I use a transformer and an embedder, but you can use a car battery. Otherwise use a wire embedder tool which pushes the wire into the wax, much simpler.

Hi Rodderick, is that just a piece of vinyl stapled to your jig to stop springback of wire & what stops the roll running free. Ciao

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Hi Tony, spot on, provides a bit of drag on the wire.

Are those standard Frames? I just noticed the lugs on the ends are quite small where it sits on the reabate

Yep, standard ‘deep’ frames. They look short but work fine.

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My video shows what can happen if the wire isn’t embedded into the foundation properly. It also shows my home made 12 volt embedding toll. The aluminium thing on the table is my wire tensioning tool. I just assemble the frames & nail them without a jig. It’s been 20 years since I did that.

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Another great video. Thanks Jeff.

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I have a How-To guide Wiring frames, will post in this Category if there is a demand for it. I realise that not everyone wants to wire brood frames in a Flow Hive as an Extractor is not required.

So wiring isn’t a nessicity in a Flow Hives brood frame?

G’day @McFoxdale, If you want to go with foundationless frames & you want to avoid using wire, a good tip I found last week was to use fishing line instead of wire. The bees will build the comb right over it. The fishing line will act as a type reinforcing for the comb.

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Yes. That’s what I use

Good write-up.
I use fishing line for foundationless (except for those 100 free frames someone found in their attic and gave me. They had wire.) I used to not flue until heavy propolising hives glued their frames to the box and when I went to pry them out the top bar came apart. I use TightBond III.

When I find excessive queen-cells I want to harvest, the fishing line lets me cut them out very easily vs wire.

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I haven’t made up any frames for a long time, however if any come apart, I use nails in the sides of the top bar & for the bottom bar I drill a pilot hole to get started to avoid splitting, also to keep the nail straight. I use a flat head galvanized 30 x 2.0mm nail. Sometimes I’ll do similar with the top bar using a 40mm nail. Once I do that, they NEVER fall apart. The pilot hole needs to be slightly half the length of the nail.
I have a similar pile of free frames sitting on top of my ceiling. Some of those need that treatment. Plus I scorch them before I use them.

This is my video of using a wire crimper - wire tensioning tool.

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Another informative video Jeff and Wilma. Thanks.

I’ve taken a good squiz at your embedding device. It’s simpler and works better than the contraption I made. I’m in the process of making another one and it will be more like yours.

G’day & thanks Bob, mine is a rough copy of the bought ones. The switch is a bit of galvanized building strap. The modern battery chargers have a circuit breaker. If you have one of those, you’ll need to use a battery as well. cheers

I just do foundationless without wire now, but keep in mind that crimping the wire has other benefits besides tightening the wire. It radiates the stress in different directions and makes a much stronger comb. If you don’t crimp the wire has a tendency to cut through the comb under stress. Crimped it does not. Also it increses the amount of area of the wire that is in contact with the comb.

Back when I did wire, I got tired of fighting those cheap crimpers they sell and took them down to the local welding shop with a pair of linemans pliers. I got the welder to make this:


He cut the ends at a 45 degree angle and welded bolts onto them. Then welded the stop for the wire (a piece of rod bent and welded out from the face of the pliers). The gears were taken from the plastic version and put on the bolts with the nuts to hold them and then the threads were punched so the bolts don’t come off.

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Loving those handmade crimpers Michael, something to hand down to the grandkids one day.

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That is a Frakentool!

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That’s an awesome looking tool - you’ve invented there… maybe you shoudld go into production :slight_smile: