BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS

Making foundation

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Ralphee:
What do people use to make their own foundation?
Looking up how its done is fun on YouTube, but i dont think i need an industrial plant for my few bee hives!
Do people the hinged alloy plates that have the pattern on them? (think a giant sandwich press) Even these are a few hundred $$

I am very much a hobby bee keeper, i only have 3 hives (so far...) and not making hundreds of frames, so i am looking at the silicon mold which is only $50 or so
That way i can use the wax i have and make some of my own foundations and not break the budget

I see some people use the paddle to make flat sheets, but the rollers to imprint the patterns are even more expensive than the alloy press! (and we know that flat foundation isnt the best)

So, without buying crazy expensive equipment - how do YOU make foundations from your own wax??

BeeMaster2:
I tried to make a silicone mold. It did not work at all.
I recommend that you just buy wax foundation.
Jim Altmiller

Ralphee:
sawdstmakr - that was my thoughts, probably a lot easier to simply buy them as i am not producing hundreds of frames (or thousands like some of you!)
But i like to play and its a hobby, so i am curious what other people do, and experiences from others.
Watching a couple youtubes with the silicon molds looks very hit-or-miss and the full alloy frames are more expensive for me than simply buying the foundation pre-made.

Do people who assembly hundreds (or thousands) of frames buy the foundations? Or what do you use?

paus:
For years I used store "boughten" foundation.   I am going foundationless now, it's not for everybody but check it out.  My foundation comes from the same source my honey comes from and I know it did not come from China.

Michael Bush:
There really is no need for foundation.  Just a comb guide will do and that can be wood.  But if you insist, you really need a press to emboss it and you make sheets with a board soaked in brine and dipped in wax.  If you don't have a press the resulting sheets are vary hard and kind of brittle so it's hard for the bees to work it.  Hawley Honey in Kansas sells the presses at the best prices I've seen.  I would get a 4.9mm press if it was me. 

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