>  Are 9 frames better than 10 in this regard ? My intuition tells me the
bees would draw
> out the 9 frames deeper to re-establish the bee space.

Well, it's not so much the thickness of the frames as it it the burr comb
the bees build between the frames at the top bars.  That is the place where
bees tend to get rolled, as the comb passes the burr as Dave Green
described.  That is why one needs to cut the burr comb from bot sides of the
first frame being removed, plus the facing sides of the adjacent frames.
Once the first frame is removed, the remaining frames can be slid into the
vacant space before the are taken out for examination.

Running 9 frames will buy you room to move initially, but eventually the
bees will build fatter combs, propolize the space between the end bars, and
built more burr comb.  Then you're back to the original problem; frames that
are too tight with no room to move.  The real trick here is to push your
frames tightly back together after examining the hive.  If you leave gaps,
the bees will fill it in.

There is a piece of equipment called a follower board.  Designs vary.  It
can be a single board approximatelt the width of a single frame or it can be
approximately half the width of a frame (in which case you use two).  The
follower Board comes out first, which gives you room to slide the first
frame over before lifting it out (hence no bees are rolled).  After
examination, the first frames is put back where the follower board was, the
second frame slides over and then lifts out without rolling bees... When the
9th frame has been examined, it is put back in the place where the eigth
frame was, and the follower board is put back in the space where the ninth
frame was.  Hence the name; the board follows the last frame.  This begs the
question, why is it called a follower board, why not a first out board?  The
Brits solved that problem by naming it a dummy board, which is also
appropriate because only dummies use follower boards anymore.  I have them
in all my hives!  Follower boards fell out of favor as yet another piece of
equipment that is not really needed.  And again, the real trick is to keep
your frames tightly packed, so the bees don't fill up / take away the room
to move that is initially there when the equipment is new before the bees
have gummed up the works.  When the frames are brand new, there is plenty of
space to work 10 frames without rolling bees.  It's only after they have
been used for a season or two that the space gets too tight.  Keeping the
frames tightly together will solve that probelm.

Aaron Morris - I think, therefore I bee!

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