# Foundationless frames question.



## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

You could just rip a strip to fit the grove. It would only have to be 1/16 to 1/8 " below the top bar surface for the bees to follow it. Often they will follow the edge made by removing the wedge from a frame that uses wedges to secure the foundation.


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

Depending on the width of the groove you can also glue tongue depressors or popsicle sticks in the groove to make a guide. makes for a lot of contact area for them to attach to.


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## hipbee (Sep 11, 2009)

ive tryed the tonge depressers just like the pic above and the small strips of foundation in regular lang frames, they both worked equally well for me. seems to me like that would work better than ripping the frames at an angle, but ive never tryed it. do what I do just try a little bit of everything and just replicate what you liked the best when you expand next year


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## jjt42 (Aug 24, 2010)

Thanks all for the suggestions. I had thought about the popcicle stick method- I had good success doing it that way this season- but thought it would be easier just to rip the cuts into the top bars rather then glueing all of those sticks in. Plus, I remember reading somewhere that the 45 degree angle comb starter seemed to work really well for people. So I was just trying to see if anybody thought the groove through the middle of the miter cut would pose a problem.

I actually noticed that Walter Kelly is selling frames designed for foundationless, with 45 degree miters already in them:
http://www.kelleybees.com/CMS/CMSPage.aspx?redirect=bb94e566-335a-4a03-aafd-3b9281613465

Thanks again.,


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## bbhb (Dec 8, 2008)

My girls like to use just one side of the chamfer, so the combs are pretty straight, but I still can't rearrange combs easily.


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## jjt42 (Aug 24, 2010)

bbhb said:


> My girls like to use just one side of the chamfer, so the combs are pretty straight, but I still can't rearrange combs easily.


What prevents you from rearranging combs easily?


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## bbhb (Dec 8, 2008)

They start on one side of the chamfer, then for the last few inches they curve the comb so it's fully on the chamfer. My girls also do not maintain bee space between combs, which allows them to make some combs curve later, or earlier, than the adjacent one. If I pull one out, the remaining combs usually don't go together like puzzle pieces.


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

You can also buy the triangle shaped corner molding. Cut a piece and nail and glue it to your top bar. Bees will follow a triangle shape comb guide too.

_They start on one side of the chamfer, then for the last few inches they curve the comb so it's fully on the chamfer. My girls also do not maintain bee space between combs, which allows them to make some combs curve later, or earlier, than the adjacent one. If I pull one out, the remaining combs usually don't go together like puzzle pieces. _

God gave you thumbs for a reason. Use your thumb to press on the comb and straighten out the curve. If necessary, cut the comb where it meets the top bar, and then press the comb straight. The bees will quickly reattach the cut, and the comb will then be solid and straight.


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## bbhb (Dec 8, 2008)

Countryboy said:


> Use your thumb to press on the comb and straighten out the curve.


I've only used chamfered bars in the honey area, so their going off-course only slows me down during harvest. (I rarely inspect the brood nest, since we have a windowed hive.) I typically wait 'til the honey is capped then cut off everything _except_ the part that is properly attached to the chamfer. This I return to the hive, in hopes that they will use it as a guide to build out new comb "correctly." Works sometimes.


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