Today I Made

[Lesgold]

The outer pins were made longer as they needed to protrude through the embedder. The ends were also bent slightly.

Pins were hit into position and the bottoms were tested and adjusted in length to sit against a straight edge.

A switch was then constructed from another piece of tubing. It was squashed, bent and drilled as shown below.

[Lesgold]

The switch was then screwed to the embedder and wires were attached to the appropriate locations.

The final stage was to connect the embedder to the battery charger and test how well it worked.

As expected, it did the job. It took just over an hour to make the project and there was no cost involved as all the materials were on hand. The switch mechanism worked exceptionally well.

[Michael Bush]

https://bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#wiringtools

https://bushfarms.com/images/WireEmbedder.JPG

I bought mine but then added more "feet" to it.

[Lesgold]

Michael,
Just one simple comment from you got me thinking. You are right. The more contact points you have on the wire, the better the embedding will be. I have often had areas where the embedder did not get the wire buried into the wax and this was always a point of frustration. Sometimes the foundation is not perfectly flat or occasionally one or more of the holes in the frames are inaccurately drilled. I will add another three bits of copper to improve the efficiency of the unit. Thank you.

[G3farms]

I find to get the best results from embedding wire into foundation, the "frame board" or "foundation board" has to be of the correct height. If the support board for the foundation is too low then the wires are getting pushed down or bowed down in the middle and the ends of the wire will not be embedded into the wax foundation. With the wired frame inserted into the frame board the wires should be laying on the support board.

Also like to run a small fan blowing on the frame while using the embedder. The transformer I use take a "5" count to heat up enough, let off of the switch and hold in place until the wax solidifies, This is where the small fan comes into play, it cools the wax just a tad faster.

Also on the outer pins, I took a small file and cut a small shallow groove into the end pins, this will let the wire fall into the groove and stay in place a little better.

[Lesgold]

Hi Folks

I have just started using some old softwood pallets for making stands for honey displays at the markets. Decided that a pallet bar would be a handy tool for pulling pallets apart efficiently. When looking at them online it appeared as though they would be a simple tool to make. After looking through my scrap metal rack, some material was chosen and a simple bar was welded together. It works a treat and saves a lot of time.

[Acebird]

Get yourself a right angle grinder and take the heads off.  You can't pull the nails out anyway so most of the slats get broken pulling the heads through.

[Lesgold]

Been there and done that. I?ve used angle grinders with fine blades, pinch bars, hammers and screw drivers, mallets, circular saws and even chain saws. Every pallet is different. Some have spiral nails, some don?t. A few have gummy timber that grips the nails and others pull apart with no issues. This is by far the quickest method that I have used. Saving time is my focus. Splits in timber, and nail holes where the nails have pulled through are cut out anyway. I?m only using the timber in short lengths. Any left over timber is used to run my steamer when I clean up frames so there is no loss. Soft wood pallets generally end up in land fill and area wasted resource. I?m happy to get some use out of a few of them.

[The15thMember]

Soft wood pallets generally end up in land fill and area wasted resource. I?m happy to get some use out of a few of them.

People around here have realized pallets are a resource, and now you can't always get them for free from places anymore, although they are still very cheap. 

[Lesgold]

That was bound to happen and I?m sure that will occur everywhere. It?s actually good to see. I went for a drive around my local industrial area yesterday and saw about 50 pallets sitting out in front of buildings for people to take away.

[Ben Framed]

Les I posted this some time ago. The video was made by a beekeeper from Tennessee. You might enjoy the view.

https://youtu.be/sNffQBI33Cs

[Lesgold]

That?s it Phillip. They work well. The pallets that we get in Australia tend to be made from inferior pine. I?ve made frames and beekeeping gear from that material in the past but it tends to move too much as the material is not kiln dried. I have to consider that when making displays and presentation boxes. Looks like the quality of wood used in the video is much better. Thanks for posting it.

[Ben Framed]

The switch was then screwed to the embedder and wires were attached to the appropriate locations.

The final stage was to connect the embedder to the battery charger and test how well it worked.

As expected, it did the job. It took just over an hour to make the project and there was no cost involved as all the materials were on hand. The switch mechanism worked exceptionally well.

You never cease to amaze me with your good ideas!

Phillip

[Acebird]

Soft wood pallets generally end up in land fill and area wasted resource.

Many are recycled here.  Some are even plastic.

[Michael Bush]

Wire works much better crimped.  It spreads the stresses in every direction and keeps the wire from just cutting through the wax.  The crimpers they sell hurt my hand.  So I went to the local welder with the gears from one of those plastic ones and a pair of Electrician pliers and had him build this:


https://bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#wiringtools

[Lesgold]

That?s much better than the commercial crimpers that I have seen Michael. That?s a good, simple design.

[Lesgold]

Back in the workshop preparing for markets in just over a week. I bought some better quality jars with a hexagonal pattern on them and turned up some wooden lids which have the standard lid glued into a recess underneath. I?ve taken a few to the last two markets and they have all sold. I?ve been explaining to people that these jars can be placed on the table as a feature piece rather than looking at an ugly pail of honey. They can obviously be refilled as needed. As the next markets will be on Father?s Day, they may end up being a popular item on the day. I initially started making a few just to dress up the display as a table full of honey is not overly interesting on its own.

[BeeMaster2]

Les,
How much do you charge for them?
Jim Altmiller

[Ben Framed]

Les,
How much do you charge for them?o
Jim Altmiller

I really like them Les.  Is it a complicated process making the wood lid covers for the metal tops? Do you have videos on this project?

PS this is the neatest and probably best sales tactic that I have seen! IMHO. Thanks for sharing this great idea!

Phillip

[The15thMember]

Back in the workshop preparing for markets in just over a week. I bought some better quality jars with a hexagonal pattern on them and turned up some wooden lids which have the standard lid glued into a recess underneath. I?ve taken a few to the last two markets and they have all sold. I?ve been explaining to people that these jars can be placed on the table as a feature piece rather than looking at an ugly pail of honey. They can obviously be refilled as needed. As the next markets will be on Father?s Day, they may end up being a popular item on the day. I initially started making a few just to dress up the display as a table full of honey is not overly interesting on its own.

Those are gorgeous!  I would be all over buying that at a farmer's market!

Les,
How much do you charge for them?
Jim Altmiller

I would also like to know.