# messy foundationless super



## dphillipm (Mar 27, 2013)

My brood frames are drawn out straight,but now they are making a mess with the supper. I cut all of the comb in a few supper's,and told them to get it right. You hope that the comb in the suppers ,are like a investment. Something you could reuse.


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## LetMBee (Jan 4, 2012)

I have experienced the same problem last year. This year I did the foundation in the center frames and foundationless on each of the sides. It has not worked out very well. Same problems you described, comb being built up from the bottom. I also ran some supers with drawn comb in the center and foundationless on each of the sides. This worked better, but they still make a mess of things far too often. I haven't quite worked the kinks out.

Someone on here may have a better option, but if I didn't have any drawn comb I would use foundation in your honey supers until you have some drawn comb to use as ladders.


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## UTvolshype (Nov 26, 2012)

I have used starter strips of 2" cut foundation with a couple of full size foundation to keep them straight. Sometimes I put fishing line in the frames but not always. No problems and cheaper on the wallet.


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## dphillipm (Mar 27, 2013)

I going to try this. I just got 100 deep sheets of ritecell foundation from Mann lake. I'm going to cut them in half,and put it in medium frames. I can let you know how they build on this set up. I want to be able to extract without a lot of hassle.


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## ladyK (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks for your ideas.
I think I will leave the more advanced, real messy super as it is, as I just can't get myself to break it all up. If I get to harvest any I wil crush & strain.
And I will put foundation on the other hive, who haven't really started on their super yet, and hopefully I will be able use these drawn frames next year, alternating with emtpy frames on both hives.

Thanks again.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

If you wait until a cold night in the fall and that morning pull the super it should be free of bees. Then if you flip it upside down on your kitchen table, you can cut everything around the edges and lift off the box. Then you can cut comb out either for comb honey or to crush and strain for honey.

Scrape it down well for next year and make sure you have a good comb guide for next year.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfoundationless.htm#whichguide


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## rweakley (Jul 2, 2004)

You can also try putting one of your super frames in the brood nest for a few days for them to get it drawn out. If they build comb on the bottom of the frame (because it's shorter than it should be for the box) then just cut it off when you move it up to the super box. I have a video on youtube with some additional tips you can find thru my link in my signature.


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## ladyK (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks for keeping the suggestions coming. 
Michael, I have read your website forwards and backwards several times: All my frames have the wedge put in sideways as a comb guide - this worked really well in the brood box, but isn't working in the super.
Rod, thanks for the video link, useful! Good idea to get a shallow super frame drawn out in the broodbox first but then I would have to take a deep brood frame out and I wouldn't know where to keep that in the meantime.
Actually I saw the opposite suggested somewhere else - to pull up a brood frame into the super and just let the longer bit hang down, I'm trying this now in my second slower hive. 
I didn't dare to pull up a frame of brood from the middle (too scared to upset the order of the broodbox) so I pulled up a capped honey frame near the side and I'm getting a bit of a result: in a week they started drawing out a frame next to that, only got a bit on the top done, but it looks nice and straight.


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