Author Topic: Comb honey. A journey of learning (Read 47235 times)

Lesgold · « **Reply #160 on:** February 07, 2022, 05:20:54 pm »

I used the wood lathe again as a method for cutting the rings. The bottom of the jar is cut off with s knife and scissors and it is then placed on a plug that I turned up. A follower block holds the jar in place. This is almost identical to my original technique.

The rings are cut as per the original technique with the results shown below:

The rings are a bit thicker and a bit more rigid than the soft drink bottle version. I decided to time how long it took to convert the jar into the comb section rings pictured above to give you guys some idea of the time commitment involved. After cutting off the base, placing the jar on the lathe, cutting the rings, removing them from the lathe and placing all components on the work bench took 76 seconds. The point that I?m trying to make here is that these rings can be made quickly and cheaply. This is the big advantage of this technique over all of the other methods that I have presented. I will make a frame over the next day or so. I hope that I can find a holesaw cutter that will do the job.

Cheers

Les

G3farms · « **Reply #161 on:** February 08, 2022, 12:57:03 pm »

How about an adjustable hole saw.............not just the one shown but look down the page and you will see different makes of them.

https://www.amazon.com/MIBRO-460271-Adjustable-Circle-Cutter/dp/B001C00ZRK

Lesgold · « **Reply #162 on:** February 08, 2022, 04:16:30 pm »

Good point G3. I?ve got one somewhere that I made years ago. They actually work quite well as long as you use the correct speed and a slow feed rate. Work also needs to be cramped well to a sacrificial backing board so that the cutter gives a good finish as it exits the material. Wish I?d thought about it before buying another holesaw cutter yesterday. I?m not overly concerned however as the standard holesaw is quicker and gives a better finish. In saying that, I?m getting a good collection of different sized cutters. Lol

Lesgold · « **Reply #163 on:** February 08, 2022, 11:55:35 pm »

Today was the first chance I?ve had to do a bit of an inspection of hives. A lot of wind and rain has kept me away. I removed the jars that I had set up on a hive. Very few bees were entering them and comb building had basically stopped. Today was my chance to find out what was going on. In the last week, quite a few trees had come into flower so I was expecting some activity. The reason why activity ceased was exactly the same as an issue I had with Ross Rounds. The bees capped honey in the super below the jars and then started pumping nectar into the top brood box. So the moral of the story is to use one brood box and make sure the bees don?t have any options or choice as to where they can store nectar. Gee I am a slow learner.

Lesgold · « **Reply #164 on:** February 10, 2022, 12:59:11 am »

A sunny morning so I decided to check my mini frames to see how the sections were progressing. Took my phone with me and grabbed a bit of rough footage. Storms are just about to hit so the beekeeping stopped and the video editing started. (I?m pretty sure that I am hyperactive and can?t sit still) Its not real flash but it may show you how this system works. Hope you can get something useful from it.

Cheers

Les

https://youtu.be/TVTH2ZcmlNM

Lesgold · « **Reply #165 on:** February 20, 2022, 12:58:54 am »

Hi Folks,

Just a bit of an update on the comb building in jars. Two weeks ago I took the jars off the hive. My intention was to store them until the next flow. A change in plan occurred when a few more mahogany trees started to flower. I decided to place the jars on the hive that held the Ross Rounds. Action in the jars increased immediately in most of the jars. Nectar was being deposited and comb building continued. The jars with a large piece of foundation in them have made very good progress. Some of them should have capped comb soon. Jars with starter strips only have about half the number of bees working them and progress is occurring at a much slower rate. The jars with a small quantity of melted wax at the base are now basically being ignored. Today I took all of the unproductive jars away and popped strips of foundation into them. The bees rushed into those jars within seconds. It was amazing to see. My thinking is that bees treat glass in a similar manner to plastic. They just don?t like it. Here is one jar that I removed that had a piece of burr comb attached to the base.

The bees did very little work on that. Notice that the jar is a little smudged on the inside due to bee traffic.

The second jar had wax painted on the base and sides. There was some activity but it was also very slow.

I will get a few more pics of the other jars in a day or so.

Cheers

Les

Brian MCquilkin · « **Reply #166 on:** February 20, 2022, 09:23:34 am »

Great information, thanks for the update

G3farms · « **Reply #167 on:** February 20, 2022, 12:50:03 pm »

Thanks for the update Les.

Looks like the foundation wins out.

What is the easiest way you have found for installing the foundation?

Lesgold · « **Reply #168 on:** February 21, 2022, 04:33:46 pm »

Sorry G3, I thought I?d responded to your question. Have a look at reply #97. This is the method I use.

Lesgold · « **Reply #169 on:** February 26, 2022, 02:39:51 am »

Here?s a visual update of the comb building in jars. Looks like the bees are very happy working the foundation.

loisl58 · « **Reply #170 on:** February 26, 2022, 03:16:20 am »

Great work. You are handier than I. The rounds would be lovely for friends and family. Good video too. Thankyou.

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Ben Framed · « **Reply #171 on:** February 26, 2022, 03:25:16 am »

This looks outstanding! From the top view looking down, the bees look to be doing a good job of keeping everything uniform in the middle of the jars..
If you were to decide to up the volume many more hives per many more jars. Your selling comb honey in a jar "toped off with golden rich honey", you should receive premium price per jar for your effort.. What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

Phillip

loisl58 · « **Reply #172 on:** February 26, 2022, 03:32:08 am »

Quote from: Lesgold on December 20, 2021, 05:41:00 pm

Hi Folks,
Just thought I?d add a little bit more information in relation to the development of the rounds. As I said in an earlier post, the clear rounds are visually appealing but they are still plastic. I wanted to go back to where I initially started on this journey and see if I could develop the timber rounds to a point where they were easy to make and looked the part. After a bit of experimenting, I started to get acceptable results. This is how I made them.

https://youtu.be/m1J7-Rtjmso

Nice video and option. Thankyou.

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Lesgold · « **Reply #173 on:** February 26, 2022, 04:19:39 am »

Hi Phillip.

I would be able to get 24 jars of that size to fit into the super. As you said in an earlier post, hex jars may utilise the space a bit more efficiently. I see this as another alternative to encourage the general public to show some interest in beekeeping. It would be a good talking point at markets etc. Thanks for the feedback loisl58. They have been quite popular over the past few months.

.30WCF · « **Reply #174 on:** February 26, 2022, 05:03:15 pm »

Reference to the plywood. That inset hole saw idea is neat. Did you drill it twice or thread two hole saws onto the arbor at the same time with a large washer in between the two hole saws, causing the inner hole to be cut deeper than the outer one.

Another option is to just drill it like you would for a jar feeder. Keep an old set of canning rings on the jars while being drawn out. Once those jars are pulled and filled you put a new lid on them and put the old canning rings on the next set.

Lesgold · « **Reply #175 on:** February 26, 2022, 06:26:48 pm »

Hi .30WCF

Your idea is a good one and would be an excellent way to go. I didn?t have any mason jars so I had to do it another way. The holes were drilled twice. The larger hole was drilled first to a set depth and then the smaller hole was drilled. This allowed for perfect alignment of the holes as the 1/4? drill in the centre of the holesaw was able to pass through the first hole that was drilled. A wide mouthed mason jar would be my number one choice if they could be purchased for a reasonable price. In my part of the world they are quite expensive and would not be my best option. The value of this type of product would also be a consideration.

Cheers

Les

loisl58 · « **Reply #176 on:** February 26, 2022, 11:48:35 pm »

Quote from: NigelP on December 17, 2021, 07:51:43 am

I sell a lot of comb honey but have given up on trying to get the rounds. My bees simply don't fill them well. I use thin foundation (or strips) and either sell whole combs packeted with a stand or use a cut comb honey cutter (or a knife) to cut sections out to fill the cut comb containers. I'd love to sell nothing else as it's much easier to do than extracting honey which is a real chore.

Nice thank you

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loisl58 · « **Reply #177 on:** February 27, 2022, 12:33:19 am »

Love the square design and frame design. Seems like something I could try to make on a good day.

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loisl58 · « **Reply #178 on:** February 27, 2022, 12:35:20 am »

Beautiful rounds 24 Dec.

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Ben Framed · « **Reply #179 on:** April 19, 2022, 11:21:30 pm »

Quote from: Lesgold on February 26, 2022, 02:39:51 am

Here?s a visual update of the comb building in jars. Looks like the bees are very happy working the foundation.

Les, the time is getting near for me to try this! Our Spring flow is just around the corner!

Phillip