# 1 1/4" Frames



## jrbbees (Apr 4, 2010)

1. decades!

or

2. Carbide finishing blade in the saw. Wear good eye protection. 
Leave the Nails! Trust the Glue! Go Slow!

or

3. if you are already SC, and you are using non-1 1/4" frames, why worry about it now?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

On drawn brood, I'd shake the bees off, plane each side of the end bar off by 1 1/16", cut the protruding honey comb off (the brood comb won't be protruding) and put it back. On honey I would do it after the harvest and after the bees have cleaned up the sticky frames. Your other choice with the harvested, dry, clean super frames is to run them through a table saw set at 1 5/16" first then do the other side of the end bars at 1 1/4".


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## windfall (Dec 8, 2010)

I believe I understand the use of 1 1/4" frames in the brood box, but I am not clear why you would want the narrower spacing for frames in supers? If anything I thought that was an area where you might slightly increase the spacing? Or is it just an attempt to keep everything the same size and completely interchangable?


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Interchangeability, one of Mike Bush's fundamental canons.

I use all deeps. At some point, there's a good chance that I switch to mediums, but that switch is relatively easy to make using existing equipment. Narrowing end bars is not.

On the other hand, Dee gets by with deeps and she's more than twice my age. So maybe I don't need to switch after all. We'll see.

But I do see the merits of closer frame spacing with small cell bees. The protruding honey does cause interchangeability issues because the bees will cross comb spaces that are too close together. Then you pull a frame and rip off part of another. Perhaps I could start with some foundationless frames trimmed and see how it goes.


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## windfall (Dec 8, 2010)

Michael bush mentions (on his site)swapping and mixing the frame sizes without issue...so how does interchangability come into play? I guess I see it with total numbers...for example 9 1 1/4 in a 8 frame box may not let you switch in a 1 3/8 and keep nine frames...drop to 8?
also, you are only changing the comb width...bee space should remain the same so why more bridging?


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

It's not the bee space in general, just between specific frames. Some pull the honey further on different frames differently.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

WiredForStereo said:


> Dee gets by with deeps and she's more than twice my age.


Don't let that fool you. She's probably twice as tough as you . . . and me!


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Something to aspire to.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My reason for doing the supers is, of course, interchanability, but I do mix both 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" freely as well.

As to Dee, she is fond of saying "if a sixty some year old lady can handle all deeps..." As Barry pointed out, Dee is not a delicate little five foot tall 90 pound woman. She is well over six foot with a lot of muscle. I would not want to take her on in any feats of strength...


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