hello
I am putting some new frames together and one of the side bars looks diffrent from the other. is there a specific way to put them together?
cheers
flo
Flozza,
Hmm, something looks wrong with those pieces. Could you lay all the parts for one frame out n take several pix’s from different direction. The difference shapes puzzles me ! I’ve never used fountain less frames but know they they have a small pointed top bar ! Let me check Beethinking website. They make those I believe for Flow.
Looks like a defective or incomplete piece slipped thru. You can get a replacement. I needed one piece replaced and it came very quickly!
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/purchasing-shipping-orders-problems-check-here-for-guidance-first/2068
sorry guys I didn’t mean to cause any confusion! 
The frames I got from Flow were all perfect! I’m from Switzerland and Langstroth boxes aren’t very common here so I orderer some frames from England. The thing is it’s not just one side bar. All of them are on one side kind of pointe and not flat. I first thought this might be a different design but to make sure I ask here on the forum what you guys think…
Ah. That sounds like a design issue. Do the frames go together ok?
yes they fit together ok and if I aligne them in the brood box the spacing seems fine as well.
Flozza,
Looking at them … Being offsided is most sure a defective. Not sure how they would ever match future frames if you try to match them. Can you get hold of your vendor ? If so I’d send photos to them so they could send correct manufactured parts. I know you don’t want to cause problems or issues but you spent good money n should receive good frames !! You might even have issues sooner or later with bee space n comb.
Just my thots as those are poorly done or machine screwed up parts. I guess they forgot to inspect before shipping.
Good luck … Gerald
That channel at top isn’t even close to cut on center. It’s most certainly a defective in manufacturing !
Hi Flo, the frames look ok to me. It must be how they’re designed to be. One shoulder square & the other pointed for some reason. I have no idea why. The channel is cut in the center, it just looks as though it’s not. If you measure to the outside of the pointed taper on one side & the square edge on the other side, they are both the same.
I actually do remember reading about this at some point it it supposed to help keep the alignemnt of the frames correct as there is a left and right side to comb. So in this case all the flat sides should point left or right and visa versa for the pointed side.
I’m just thinking about it. I wonder if one shoulder comes to a point to make it easier to put back in the hive, should the last frame be a bit tight. I imagine if things were a bit tight it would be easier to put the last frame in if one shoulder came to a point. Also it would be easier for the pointed shoulders to push any propolis out of the way, in case there was a buildup of propolis on the square shoulders.
Yes, I was typing as your reply came in. I was thinking exactly that, that all the frames should be assembled with both ends the same way. Otherwise you’d have a point against another point.
Thanks everyone for your help! Much appreciated! I sent my vendor an e-mail concerning the frames. Let’s see what she has to say. Thanks again and I let you know what she wrote. cheers 
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ok got an answer from the vendor I bought the frames of. @JeffH @Gerald_Nickel @adagna She said that a lot of frames in the UK are mad with one side pointy and on side flat, that is so to make manipulations easier in the hive as the frames do not stick together as much. So now we know! 
thanks again and have a good weekend
ah and thats the way they go in to the box…
Cheers
Flo
2 Likes
Awesome ! We live n learn all the time. That’s diffinately a new one for me. Thanks for the share ! We’ll have to put that tid bit in our bank of knowledge ! 
Appreciate keeping us in the loop so we can all learn,
Ta ta,
Gerald 
Hi & thank you Flo, I was kind of thinking it was something like that. All you need to remember is to keep them all the same way. Looks like a pretty good system to me. Likewise, you have a good weekend also. cheers:)
Hi, these frames are ‘Hoffman’ frames, when built up, the pointed sides face the opposite way to each other, & butt up against the flat edges, as shown in your pics, they face opposite ways so you can turn the frame around so that either the flat or pointed edges dont butt against each other.
The reason for this style, with the pointed bit butted against the flat edge, it gives the correct spacing between the frames without the need for spacers, more things to be propilised together !!!, also if you leave a frame out from one end, & using a dummy board, you can remove the dummy board, then this allows you to slide the next frame away from all the other frames, causing less stress & injury for the bees when lifting out for inspection. fit the 1st frame aginst the wall of the hive & work along the remaining frames leaving the space at the other end, then when all back in place, refit dummy board to other end.
Great design
Hope this helps
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Agreed. This looks like a great design element/enhancement to limit the contacting surface area of adjacent frames. Thanks Buggsy for providing the specific details, I am surprised I haven’t run into these in Australia.