# Foundationless



## Aerindel (Apr 14, 2012)

Doesn't look like it would be too hard to break of the comb and use rubber bands to put it back in. As I understand it once they get off they will keep making bad comb until its fixed. 

What did you use form comb guides? I'm going all foundationless this year and Its good to see what works and what doesn't.


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## jonlorusso (Apr 25, 2011)

I used popsicle sticks. It's possible they did not protrude far enough for the bees to properly festoon and build comb from that point rather than along side it. Fortunately the combs are mostly parallel with the bars, so if I were to "fix" them, it would simply be a matter of shifting them into the frame.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Bees build parallel combs. One bad comb leads to another. One good comb leads to another. Fix it now before they build another bad one. cut it loose and rubber band it or tie it into the frame straight. Make all of them straight. Then the next one will be straight.

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


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## stoffel64 (Sep 23, 2010)

Well, I run both foundation-less and with foundation and I have to confirm Michael Bush, the bees prefer the foundation-less frames. If there are both frame in a hive
they will build comb in the empty frame before they draw out the foundation. I have only a few hives but I already saw that some are just building perfect comb in the 
frames and others can not build straight comb at all. With this hive I use now much more foundation because they produce a smaller mess. 

The comb they build it is much wider the brood comb. In the honey supers I only use 9 frames.

Cheers
Stefan


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## mrobinson (Jan 20, 2012)

Perhaps slightly in the bees' "defense," I have also read that by creating slightly curved or "wavy" combs, the resulting structure is much stronger. A force exerted sideways against the comb, that might otherwise snap it off, is now resisted. Interesting.


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## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Next time use some starter strips. That usually helps quite a bit.


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