# Comb Question from NewBee



## mjtracy (Jun 17, 2011)

On my TBs I use all 1.5" bars. The point of TBs is to keep things simple and cheap!

3 years on one hive and haven't had any comb problems.

I do prefer the Langs overall for ease of maintenance and manipulation.

The TBs are a fun experiment.


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## gregsky88 (Mar 21, 2012)

mjtracy said:


> On my TBs I use all 1.5" bars. The point of TBs is to keep things simple and cheap!
> 
> 3 years on one hive and haven't had any comb problems.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply.
I am in West Texas and this is an experiment..lots of wind and not sure about the forage around so hated to go in with big $$$ to find an impossible situation. Still feeding cane sugar water but intend to back off and let the girls spread out some.


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## mjtracy (Jun 17, 2011)

If there is nectar available, the bees will ignore the syrup. Feed them until they don't take anymore, especially if they are still building out comb. They won't become dependant on syrup.


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## brianbonner (May 10, 2012)

Interesting, I do like the spacers so I can remove a 14" spacer and look into the hive without removing the bars, but I like the simplicity of all one size, although my study say 1-58ths for honey comb, but you say 1.5 works. I think next hive I will try 1.5" what length/width hive are you running?


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## gregsky88 (Mar 21, 2012)

brianbonner said:


> Interesting, I do like the spacers so I can remove a 14" spacer and look into the hive without removing the bars, but I like the simplicity of all one size, although my study say 1-58ths for honey comb, but you say 1.5 works. I think next hive I will try 1.5" what length/width hive are you running?


36"


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## mjtracy (Jun 17, 2011)

My hives are 40"x 16". 25 bars. My 3 yr old hive is drawn out 22 bars.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I used to run all 1 1/2" and they cheated every bar less in the brood area until they were in between two bars instead of on the bar. Once I realized their brood was 1 1/4" I decided not to fight them. If you put a bar of any width from 1 1/2" to 1 1/4" in between two drawn brood combs they will simply draw a perfect comb down the middle. It's when they are building the NEXT bar out that they judge the distance and make it what they want. When they build honey they don't tend to be happy with 1 1/4" and tend to make it more like 1 1/2". As long as you can keep each comb on one bar you are doing fine.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I've got tbh's in their third year. I use 1.25" for brood and 1.5" for honey. You mix and match to some extent as you adjust for variations, but once they get to storing, those honeycombs can get so wide that you want even more than the 1.5" spacing. I find that the last couple of combs of the season get kind of crazy, so I usually cut them at season end with harvest.

I also have some strips of wood I can use as spacers if necessary. 

Adam


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

I've been pretty much following MB's advice with great success.

Mike


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## mjtracy (Jun 17, 2011)

Here's pictures of my 3 year hive.


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## mrobinson (Jan 20, 2012)

Michael Bush said:


> It's when they are building the NEXT bar out that they judge the distance and make it what they want.


I too am wondering (and am yet to see) what effect "sticking a blank bar into the gap" may have.


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## KatyTX_Bees (Apr 2, 2012)

I just rode through west Texas on the motorcycle this past Sunday 27-May and the flowers were blooming every where. I don't think the bees will have trouble finding forage. 
In my TBH, all of my top bars 1-3/8 inch wide. I had used Philip Chandler's design, with a length of 4 feet.
I initially installed my package on 10-May. When I left for my trip on 18-May there was only one comb built out and starting on a second. When I arrived back home and did an inspection 8 bars were fully built out with comb and the 9th was partly built. I moved the follower board to add an additional 5 top bars for them to have access to.


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## Hoosier (Aug 11, 2011)

My hives are 46 1/2 inches long with 17 brood bars and 14 honey bars. I stain my 1 3/8 brood bars a dark color and put a white dot on the right side. The white dot helps me be sure that I replaced the bar back like it was before I took it out for inspection. My 1 1/2-inch honey bars are plain, unstained with a black dot on the right side. I installed two packages of bees and queens on April 17, and so far all of the combs in both hives are straight.


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