# Starter Strip Question



## stan.vick (Dec 19, 2010)

Try it and let us know, there are no dumb ideas in my book, it's called brain-storming and anyone that's came up with an idea that worked, had a lot that didn't. You got to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. The idea sounds reasonable to me.


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

I find that most of the time the problem with dropping comb is when someone tilts the frame the wrong way during warm weather. You CAN use #8 screen, popsicle sticks, strips of foundation, the wedge from the wedge part of the frame, as you see you can use most anything you want. Heck I have even used card board in a pinch. I think, in my opinion, it is a matter of choice. But to really answer your question, I will give you the old advice try it, nothing ventured nothing gained, most inventions start with one different idea. And your idea seems plausable that it might keep the wax from collapsing in the hive without the help from some numbscull helper that doesn't know his head from a hole in the ground.......OH excuse me that is an episode in a chapter of my life of beekeeping.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

You are posting in the Top Bar forum, so I have to assume that you are using bars, not frames. Lang hive beekeepers with frames have minimal issues with heat and weak comb. Since top bars obviously have no side or bottom bars, TBH beekeepers must be more careful how they handle comb. If you want to examine the bottom of the comb, learn to lower one end of the bar and raise the other end. If you simply rotate the bar on the bar's axis, you may have comb break off the bar.  If you flip bars end for end, there is much less likelihood of broken comb.

My TBH bars use 45 degree angled wood pieces as starter strips, a la Michael Bush:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm#guide


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## TheBuzz (Feb 8, 2012)

I use nothing and they're building fine on their own.


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## fruitveggirl (Mar 8, 2013)

I've only had one experience with a dropped comb. My hives are about 11" deep and I have wedge-shaped bars that are 19" long. When I cut brace comb, I use a long, thin knife and cut from bottom to top. However, none of the precautions prevented a comb from falling. One day, I opened the hive and it was sitting on the hive floor. However, it didn't break near the top of the bar -- it broke more toward the middle, so I don't think any kind of reinforcement would've helped it. 

Still, I think you have an interesting idea for fortifying the comb near the top of the bar. Try it and let us know.


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