# Eyelets For Wiring Frames - Necessary?



## PhilK (Jan 4, 2011)

G'day all,

Have put together a bunch of frames but this will be my first time wiring and putting in foundation. I don't have any eyelets - are these super necessary? I have heard they are needed to stop the wire cutting into the wood, but then others have said you don't need to tighten the wires to the point where they are cutting into wood.

What is the general consensus?

Cheers


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

I use brass eyelets, but there is an alternative that is cheap and easy. Get a staple gun that can shoot staples with 1/4 inch legs. Position the gun so the staple goes in over the hole in the frame. Put a staple over each hole that wire will be run through. Use the staple as support for the wire.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Staples work great. If you don't use the metal guides (eyelets or staples) the wire cuts into the soft wood -- and sags. Unless the wire has a good tension, the wax sags during extraction. If it sags, the frame blows out. This is a "for want of a nail, the kingdom was lost" scenario. Use a metal guide to keep the wire taut.


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## sweetas (Apr 16, 2012)

An electric staple gun with heavy duty staples works great. I put a staple close to each side of the hole. Cheap and fast to put in. Started staples when I couldn't get eyelets. Haven't gone back to eyelets

Have fun

Geoff


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

Done with eye lets to staples for me.


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## laketrout (Mar 5, 2013)

Definitely staples , eyelets are to time consuming .


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## Terry C (Sep 6, 2013)

laketrout said:


> Definitely staples , eyelets are to time consuming .


 Not if you have a tool to insert them . When the eyelets I have are gone I'll be switching to staples . Cheaper and faster than eyelets .


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## Clayton Huestis (Jan 6, 2013)

I use a paper stapler, cheap one from Walmart or the dollar store. There only a few bucks and faster than eyelets. The staples are only around a buck and 5000 in a pack. So you can do 500 frames for a buck, that's pretty cheap.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I used to use eyelets but have since stopped. Even with the tool I had some frames that were just terrible to get the eyelets into. They DO help keep the wire from cutting into the wood when you tighten but I've never had real problems in the long run. Some frames have real soft wood and you can usually tell when you pull the wire tight that it'll get a little loose. I just pull those tighter.


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## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

It has been my experience that the wire cutting into the soft wood and causing the wire to sag is rare enough once the comb gets drawn that it has never been an issue for me. I pound a nail or use a staple to hold the wire, and once the bees have done their job with the comb, the wire isn't even necessary, just helps stabilize the comb till the bees have attached it to the sides securely.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

lemmje said:


> It has been my experience that the wire cutting into the soft wood and causing the wire to sag is rare enough once the comb gets drawn that it has never been an issue for me. I pound a nail or use a staple to hold the wire, and once the bees have done their job with the comb, the wire isn't even necessary, just helps stabilize the comb till the bees have attached it to the sides securely.



This is is very true. Once in a great while I'll pull a previously wired frame to put in a colony and find the wire a little loose. I drive a small nail into the frame so that the nail "stretches" the wire tight again. Once the bees pull wax, it's generally no problem.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Clayton Huestis said:


> I use a paper stapler, cheap one from Walmart or the dollar store. There only a few bucks and faster than eyelets. The staples are only around a buck and 5000 in a pack. So you can do 500 frames for a buck, that's pretty cheap.


Absolutely. The paper staples are smoother (round wire stock, not sheared sheet metal) Much cheaper staples and stapler. As mentioned in other posts after the frame is drawn and seen a few cycles the crosswires really are just along for the ride. I really like mann lakes wire crimper as you dont have to stretch the wire singing tight when installing; a few quick strokes with the crimper gives a nice tight assembly with a fair bit of flexibility to stay tight even if you frame ends curve in a bit over time.


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