BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM.
Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
Ben Framed:
I recently viewed a video of some beekeepers on one of tthe pacific islands which were making their own wax foundation. There were four or so of these beekeepers (assembly lining) the process. They were really cranking out the pure beeswax foundation sheets. Watching closely I was thinking this would take some time for a one person operation., but with some help a person could really crank the stuff out as demonstrated in the video.
Have or do any of you roller press your own wax foundation?
JurassicApiary:
I've wanted to, however those roller mills are quite pricey! :angry:
Ben Framed:
--- Quote from: JurassicApiary on August 03, 2021, 01:56:14 pm ---I've wanted to, however those roller mills are quite pricey! :angry:
--- End quote ---
yes they are! But...... Are they worth it? Anyone other thoughts or experiences with these?
Lesgold:
I make all of my own foundation this way. Was lucky enough to pick up a flat wax roller and an embossing roller for under $500 about 6 years ago. The guy who was selling them had just bought out a beekeeping store and wanted to get rid of them. At the time they were selling for about $900 each so I got a bargain. I?m not sure that it would be worth the $$$ to purchase one at full price (they are about $1000 here) You can buy a lot of foundation for that amount of money. There is a reasonable amount of time that needs to be allocated to making the foundation so it?s not for everyone. In my situation, it works well. If I want to buy foundation for a reasonable price, I have to drive for 4 hours to get it. (Getting it delivered makes it very expensive) I get to make foundation whenever I need it so that is an advantage (I tend to go into spring with a couple of boxes of foundation ready to go) The other advantage is being able to use your own wax. From every frame of honey I extract, I can almost produce a sheet of foundation from the cappings wax recovered. Using my own wax allows me to control what goes into the foundation. My hives are clean and chemical free so there are no issue from that perspective. In my opinion, most people wouldn?t worry about heading down this path. With the good price currently being paid for clean wax, trading it for foundation is the easy way to go. I essentially save about $1 per sheet of foundation that I make. (which means I needed to make 250 sheets of foundation to cover the cost of the embossing roller)
Lesgold:
Just thought I?d show you how I make my foundation. I made a clip a couple of years ago. What I failed to add in the clip is that all foundation once made, is rinsed in fresh water and dried before storing.
https://youtu.be/OunOsxZqHAY
Cheers
Les
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