# Horizontal Comb Cuts



## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Guys,

I would like to propose tbh rule number 1:

No horizontal comb cuts. Not ever, never, no matter what!

If comb corrections are needed, it's best to just remove the offending piece of comb no matter how small the comb or the horizontal cut.

The bees sometimes rapidly change their focus when drawing out comb. A small piece of comb that can endure a small horizonatal cut might not be able to support the additional weight of lots of bees if their focus shifts to it.

Guess how I know? :> )))

On another note, I went through my tbhs this afternoon. The weather was poor but working the tbhs was pure pleasure.

Regards
Dennis
The once horizontal cutting king is horizontal cutting no more!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My 45 degree beveled top bars are perfect. Not one is off at all so far. But then the 1 3/8 bars with NO starter strips (except the center one) are also perfect so far. I started it in a 5 frame nuc and moved it to a 10 frame box a few days ago and they have comb started on every bar now.

My 4.9mm plastic, on the other hand is still a mess. I cut a deep frame's worth out and throw it away about once a week.


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## limulus (Feb 10, 2004)

I made my bars with a kerf cut in the middle, and a 45 degree bevel to the edge. On some I just filled the kerf with wax, on others I put in a starter strip. The ones with simply a filled kerf (18 bars) are all perfectly straight so far. With a starter strip(18 bars) 3 have needed major corrections and 4 are slightly off center and have tended to wander towared the front of the hive at the ends of the drawn comb (usually the end of the bar, but on 2 bars they started on one side, then switched to the other side and they wander where the two sides met in the middle)


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## BerkeyDavid (Jan 29, 2004)

Limulus:

did you use melted wax on the starter strip bars?


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## limulus (Feb 10, 2004)

Yes, I set the starter strips into the kerf with melted wax. I am pretty sure I did not use as much wax as in those without though. The bars were the same.


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## Scot Mc Pherson (Oct 12, 2001)

For what its worth, I have done horizontal cuts, and although the combs have stood up to it, they never quite get back into shape. If I am going to do a horizontal cut, then it must be a pretty sever problem, and if its severe enough to do that, then I might as well make a 30 degree cut instead and just remove the chunk of offending comb. THe bees will fill in the space MUCH MUCH better than they do at reattaching a comb cut from the top bar. It requires too much pressure to keep the top of the comb held against the top bar for reattachment. I more often find they just clean the cut and the comb remains suspended from the side.

The combs I have taken chunks from instead have been repaired in such a way that I can't tell except for the color of the comb when its still young. Take a look at http://linuxfromscratch.org/~scot/pics/bees/TrimmedComb.JPG to see what I mean. This comb now is one single comb and you can't tell where the old and new comb join if you were to look at it today.

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Scot Mc Pherson
Foundationless Small Cell Top Bar Hives
BeeWiki: http://linuxfromscratch.org/~scot/beewiki/


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## jennSAL (Jan 6, 2014)

Again sorry to blast from the past if not the usual custom. My first TBH I started top bars in between frames in an 8 frame super and they were beautifully straight as were all the rest made in the tbh when I moved the started topbars.Will see how I do this year not leaving them in the super but gping straight into TBH with nuc frames parallel (one tbh) or perpendicular (other) to topbars. Will cheat a bit with some of the topbars from last year's hive. Same source for nucs and no sign of disease in absconded hive last year so don't think this increases my risk for disease, though there may be some wax moths I can not see in the old topbars.


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## Eric Crosby (Jan 4, 2015)

hi Jenn, if I understand correctly you plan to place one of your langs Nucs in your TBH with the Lang frame perpendicular to the TBH bars. I have never tried this so can't say for certain, but everything I have read Indicates that it is improbabable that it will succeed. Do you still have the TBH comb on the TBH bars from your olds colony. 
Kind of fun actually reading the old stuff when people like M bush were experimenting with TBH.


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