# 9 frame spacer plans



## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Why don't you just buy one for $10.00?

https://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1277


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

I bought one and am not happy with it. Or it could be me. The Teeth seam to be to short. 
David


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Make your own. I did. Measure the distance, divide by frame number, and add 60 degree angels to the depth of the fames width. Really easy to make.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Whatta ya wanna do? Put Stollers out of business? Spend a little money and help keep the economy going.


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## challenger (May 27, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> Whatta ya wanna do? Put Stollers out of business? Spend a little money and help keep the economy going.


Wrong wrong wrong.
Make anything and everything you feel you reasonably can. The suppliers are ripping people off IMO with shipping charges. Last few items I bought cost 1/2 again what the products cost.
JMOHO
Howard


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## Stoller Apiaries (Jun 24, 2011)

I second sqkcrk! Actually I don't personally sell the Stoller spacers anymore, but my left arm and right foot has probably made a few million in years gone by.

Just some food for thought, 9 frame are intended for brood nest and 8 frame for honey supers. The Stoller spacers work well for brood nests, while the hand spacers in my opinion would be a better fit for spacing with honey supers.

I wish you well!

Kirk


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## AramF (Sep 23, 2010)

People make frames. People make boxes. People hatch their own queens. I don't throw away nice size pieces of plywood left from wood projects and I would like to make a 9 frame spacer to make good use of my leftovers.

Considering that I misplace half of the things I own (if not more), it is not such a bad idea to make one or several myself. Noone is ripping anybody off. It is a market. Save money by not buying power tools and pay for things you cannot make. Spend money on machinery, then you can make everything you need and can make. All of the talk otherwise seems kind of outside of the scope of my original question.

The standard end pieces are 1 3/8 wide. Is the key to space frames about 1.5 inches off center of each frame, or even more than that? This is for honey supers, not brood boxes.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

I don't see any need to buy something that I can make either. I'm not laying gold eggs so I'm just being frugal. The spacer image I've posted was made from a scrap piece of furniture grade plywood. It is not as perfect as the ones made by commercial companies, but I don't need it all the time either. I would have bought one, if I would need it all the time, because it cleans up better. I guess I could have made one out of plexiglass material, but I did not have it laying around. Plus I think that would have cost me more then the commercial tool. I'm certainly not putting anyone out of business. It's a free market and you buy what you want or need. You usually don't buy to keep companies in business, since that will promote weak products. I'm also sure that those companies make other products, and don't just rely on one item. Anyway the scrap plywood piece was American made, which means it employed and paid someone in the US. I also like to make products to my specs, and have created a portable bee work bench. Again American lumber used.


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## GuerillaBeek (Jan 11, 2011)

Charlie B said:


> Why don't you just buy one for $10.00?


--stands on soapbox--

Really? 

If AramF wanted to buy a frame spacer, I'm sure he could figure that out without outside input. If you have an **answer** to a question, then by all means share it, but please don't post irrelevant responses to legitimate questions. I'm not trying to start a flame war, it's just that I've received 'answers' like 
that to questions I've posted and it's frustrating.

--steps off of soapbox--


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

I apologize for my post.


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## GuerillaBeek (Jan 11, 2011)

Hey, no worries.  No harm, no foul. We're all here because we *love* talking about bees and meeting other beekeepers. My apologies for grandstanding - was having a trying day and probably should have waited 24 hours before hitting "send"...


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## weavefish (Sep 24, 2011)

not to thread jack but i have 10 frame brood/honey boxes. is there a need for spacers? when i put the frames in there is ampel room on one side. sorry new to this.


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## AramF (Sep 23, 2010)

no, there is no need for them. save 11% in cost of frames and it is easier to cut out the cappings.

In case someone wants to know, all you need to do is to make equilateral triangles offset by 1 and 9/16. Make them as tall you want within reason. This config separates top bars by 1/2 inch.


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## 100 td (Apr 3, 2011)

Dependent on the number of hives you are working you could just measure your hive and mark lines on the top of the box where you need to place your frames each time, as you work thru the hive before closing up just line up the frames with the marks.


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## valleyman (Nov 24, 2009)

I like this option from www.kelleybees.com


Share this! 2-49 Frame Spacers ----9 spacing

















*Price: $0.63*
*Product Code: 184-9A*
These frame spacers will turn 10-frame supers into 9-frame supers. These spacers nail into place in the supers with the 5/8" depth rabbet. These supers do not use metal frame rests so the spacers are made to work with the rabbet instead.


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## Hareman (May 11, 2010)

Here's a way to make one for $2 : http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/frame-spacing-tool/.


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## MwdRobert (Mar 24, 2015)

weavefish said:


> not to thread jack but i have 10 frame brood/honey boxes. is there a need for spacers? when i put the frames in there is ampel room on one side. sorry new to this.


When you put your frames in all to one side, the frame near that big old space will be blown out extra wide. With all frames touching you need to make equal empty space on the outside frames. I normally use my hive tool to push all the frames together against one side, then pry them en mass until they are centered within the super.


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## Terry C (Sep 6, 2013)

MwdRobert said:


> When you put your frames in all to one side, the frame near that big old space will be blown out extra wide. With all frames touching you need to make equal empty space on the outside frames. I normally use my hive tool to push all the frames together against one side, then pry them en mass until they are centered within the super.


 I try to leave an equal space between frames/sides and use 10 frames/box . My first 2 medium supers came with 9 frame metal spacers . New foundation in used <and some new> frames spaced that far apart gave the bees an opportunity to build wonky comb . That spacing may work with drawn comb ... I'll be finding that out this year .


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

The bee companies don't run the shipping companies. It costs no more to ship bee stuff than a gift.



challenger said:


> Wrong wrong wrong.
> Make anything and everything you feel you reasonably can. The suppliers are ripping people off IMO with shipping charges. Last few items I bought cost 1/2 again what the products cost.
> JMOHO
> Howard


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## ToeOfDog (Sep 25, 2013)

AramF said:


> what is the distance between each tooth at the tip and at the bottom and how wide each tooth is at he bottom.


The inside dimensions of an eleven frame box is 14.75". In large cell language that's a 10 frame box. If you want to run nine frames in a "10" frame box so that the bees overdraw the combs the frames need to be 1.64" on center. Assuming that you are using 1.375" wide endbars since this is in the honey supers with a 1" wide top bar you need approximately a 1/4" gap between the endpieces. Take a piece of graph paper and plot out the frames as described above and swag a tooth and use that template.

Somehow in my math i'm .125" off.

I use strollers.


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## Tim B (Apr 16, 2009)

save yourself the trouble and just eyeball them. Once everything is covered with propolis the spacers won't work well anyway.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

I still have a few 8 frame spacers, and a bunch of 9's. I'm "phasing" them out. They've worked OK, but they do get "messy" with time. 8 frame supers leave about 1/4" of uncapping. Great, but lot's into the uncapper-spinner. 9 is OK, but I'm just going to build a spacer rack. Both of the metal types lead to propolis build up that is a PITA to keep clean. Burr comb & propolis ensues. Bee space gets messed up. 10 frame brood boxes work well. 9 frame supers makes uncapping easier. 

Some companies offer free shipping after a certain $$$ order... I rarely need something before I hit the limit.


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## Aggravated Farmer (Mar 18, 2015)

Use measuring tape to make sure they are spaced correctly. Problem solved.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

I have a spacer but I never use it. When the extra space is left between the frames the bees make a mess of it. I use 9 frames, but I push the frames together and leave about 1/2 of the extra space on either side.


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## johnny9 (Aug 5, 2015)

Katharina said:


> I don't see any need to buy something that I can make either. I'm not laying gold eggs so I'm just being frugal. The spacer image I've posted was made from a scrap piece of furniture grade plywood. It is not as perfect as the ones made by commercial companies, but I don't need it all the time either. I would have bought one, if I would need it all the time, because it cleans up better. I guess I could have made one out of plexiglass material, but I did not have it laying around. Plus I think that would have cost me more then the commercial tool. I'm certainly not putting anyone out of business. It's a free market and you buy what you want or need. You usually don't buy to keep companies in business, since that will promote weak products. I'm also sure that those companies make other products, and don't just rely on one item. Anyway the scrap plywood piece was American made, which means it employed and paid someone in the US. I also like to make products to my specs, and have created a portable bee work bench. Again American lumber used.


I agree I went to Dadant frame spacer (plastic) was. $11.35 ok I can live with that. But $11.28 to ship it got that order shut down. Just plain crazy


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## will delito (Oct 9, 2016)

That plan has you purchasing 2 frame spacers at close to $40 not $2. http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/frame-spacing-tool/.


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