Aaron, Jim, etc. (sorry about being classed as an etc.)
Bee-L sure does show the differences the different facets of beekeeping!
Stainless steel wire, several points.
Over here on the "old continent" of Europe - the greatest % of foundation that is placed into frames
is unwired wax sheets. (UK being the exception).
They require wire support - manually placed into frames, often during the winter months.
The wax is then melted on to the wire.

My first several thousand was done with "traditional" iron wire - that stretched and stretched,
being quite ductile.
A really good twang was obtained only to find that tension was lost over a short period of time.

Stainless, allowed a good tension to be obtained - sure it will snap it one tries to tune it to the
highest note on a piano.
Price - yes it is expensive per metre compared to soft/galvanised wire, esp. if you renew brood
frames after only 3 - 4 years.
But it is clean.

I often wondered in my hobby days why wax coming out of solar melter always had a dull muddy colour,
even though it was collected into a nonstick tray having run down a steel slope! - the iron from the
wire didn't help (+ zinc?).
How many of you in the States, who apparently like to keep frames until they are dark, dark in
colour, when finally rendering them down, find the wire support in bits?
Where have the missing bits gone? - as Jim will no doubt support, material does not just disappear.

Fishing line - sounds ok to me! - but can you buy it by the km.?
Plastic foundation - seems to me like disposable nappies! - excellent whilst being used as
foundation (not the nappies), but afterwards, where does it go?

The loss of "mothballs" (paradichlorobenzene).
No great worry for those living in clims. where there is a good period of negative °C's. - that
really controls the wax moth.
More of a problem where temperature does not drop to a level that kill the eggs.
But, then, who wants certain cyclic aromatics swilling around in the wax after its use?

The same with hive bodies treated with creosote.
It preserves timber a treat (and to my nose has a delightful smell!) - but handling supers etc. on a
hot day, brings the average beekeeper and the honey into contact with the preservative . To my mind,
not really desirable.

I consider, where possible, it quite logical to limit contamination of bees, wax, honey, beekeeper
etc. when there are other techniques that may be employed.
Some changes are more easily adapted to by hobbyists, others due to scale, by commercial outfits.
Often the changes are being "imposed" by the buying public, with the support of present day
scientific knowledge.
Ignore them at our peril.

So, returning to "solder"!!!!!!
Regards
Peter

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