Welcome, Guest
Login or Register
Home
« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation  (Read 1978 times)

Offline Ben Framed

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 12708
  • Mississippi Zone 7
Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« on: August 02, 2021, 03:24:56 pm »
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?
Logged
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline JurassicApiary

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 331
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2021, 01:56:14 pm »
I've wanted to, however those roller mills are quite pricey!  :angry:
Logged

Offline Ben Framed

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 12708
  • Mississippi Zone 7
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2022, 03:50:58 pm »
Quote from: JurassicApiary on August 03, 2021, 01:56:14 pm
I've wanted to, however those roller mills are quite pricey!  :angry:


yes they are!      But...... Are they worth it? Anyone other thoughts or experiences with these?
Logged
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Lesgold

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2022, 04:31:44 pm »
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)
Logged

Offline Lesgold

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2022, 08:59:34 pm »
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
Logged

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3057
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2022, 10:23:18 pm »
     Yes I have made my own beeswax foundation.. When I was in the USA Peace Corps. (1983 to 1985)  The Peace Corps did buy me Is a wax foundation mold.. The mold was made in Italy.. It was made out of bronze :shocked: and Heavy plastic. It worked OK...  You did have to handle the wax foundation very carefully... Once I got the room temperature.. Because it would crack... I did bring a couple of spur wheels with me... I also got Brushy Mountain  Bee supplies..  To send me A dozen spurwheels..  Through the diplomatic pouch..  To the US embassy..  Brushy Mountain did this for free.. I could get foundation wire .In Tunis ,Tunisia..
   All I Can say... There was a learning curve. On learning how to use . The mold to make these wax foundations.. It took me about 80 hours.. To learn how to do this.. I did write too many suppliers  No email back in the prehistoric days. LOL.. For bee keeping equipment .. I believe I was the 1st person.. To ever have plastic foundations in Tunisia.. I did learn  To install foundation on warm Sunny days... I put my foundation out in the sunshine On a   cement patio... Before I installed... It just made things easier..

     

                       BEE HAPPY  Jim134   :smile:
« Last Edit: January 16, 2022, 10:37:54 pm by Jim 134 »
Logged
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline beesnweeds

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 248
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2022, 10:50:06 pm »
Quote from: Lesgold on January 16, 2022, 08:59:34 pm
Just thought I?d show you how I make my foundation.

Nice job Les!  Excellent set up.  Im not 100% sure but I think you might be skipping a step. After the wax is removed from the plywood, I believe you have to go over it with a rolling pin and it becomes more flexible before running it through the embosser.  Ive never done it before, and I may be totally wrong, but I think it's worth a try.
Logged
Everyone loves a worker.... until its laying.

Offline Lesgold

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2022, 11:00:39 pm »
Nicely picked up. The embossing roller is still a roller and it does temper the wax as it passes through. You may have noticed from the video that the wax needs to be about 30 degrees before you run it through the embosser. At that temperature, it is soft and pliable. That step is critical if you make foundation on a cold winters day. (In my area a cool day is 13 or 14 degrees Celsius)

Cheers

Les
Logged

Offline beesnweeds

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 248
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2022, 11:08:49 pm »
I see, thanks for sharing the video.  Im spoiled with plastic foundation now but love the idea of being able to make foundation.
Logged
Everyone loves a worker.... until its laying.

Offline BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13550
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2022, 08:55:05 am »
Les,
Thanks for sharing that video.
I once tried to make a medium foundation using silicone and a plastic fountain for the pattern. It did not work out, couldn?t get it apart in one piece.
I just use foundation Les in the brood boxes and plastic in the supers.
Jim Altmiller
Logged
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Lesgold

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2022, 05:01:55 pm »
Thanks Jim. I used to produce all my foundation in a silicone mold that I made. It worked really well but the cast wax was a little hard and brittle. The bees still loved it and were able to draw out wax quickly. I found that if I cast the foundation and embedded it straight into a frame, I had no problems at all. If I stored the foundation, I had to handle it carefully in the cooler months. This is how I used to make it


https://youtu.be/Fjq-ilNd39M

The plastic foundation always produces a lot of honey for me. I use both in my supers and they are always randomly placed in the hives. Once drawn, the bees show no real preference for either.  If I was keeping bees commercially, I would set my hives up in the same way that you do.

Cheers

Les

Logged

Offline Ben Framed

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 12708
  • Mississippi Zone 7
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2022, 05:11:26 pm »
Good stuff Les....
Logged
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13550
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2022, 08:09:05 pm »
Les,
That silicone mold works real well. The one I made was on wood boards and it has no flex and has a great vacuum seal making it difficult to separate.
Jim Altmiller
Logged
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Lesgold

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Roller Pressing Wax Foundation
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2022, 08:41:33 pm »
It took a while to get a routine working (like most things in beekeeping) but once I got a couple of hundred sheets under my belt, things started to fall into place. The beauty of that system was that no special equipment was required to make the foundation. It took me a while to think though the design of the mold but once that was sorted in my head, the construction was straightforward. I gave the mold away when the foundation roller was purchased.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »