Mats Anderson inquired about wiring frames.
I realize many of you probably already do these things, but new
beekeepers may not know.
I have a board that I use that has small blocks of wood to hold
the top bar, and one smaller block in the middle of the bottom
bars. It put a slight amount of tension on the frame, pulling the
ends in just a small amount. I think it adds some additional
tension to the wires when released.
I used a mouse trap to keep the wire spool from spinning freely,
and run the wire through a wooden spring type clothes pin
fastened on the board to keep the wire end from springing back
around the spool.
I use a stout pair of long nosed (needle nosed) pliers to handle
the wire. The spool of wire is positioned so it feeds into the
top left hole in the frame, around a spool on the right, and back
through the frame. The end is secured on the bottom left endpiece
with a small wire nail. I use the pliers to grip and pull the
wire, (taken off the spools, of course) prying with the pliers
against the top bar. Alternately pull on the wires with the other
hand until you can get a good "twang" out of the wires. Loop
around a nail on the end piece, hammer in the nail, and break off
the wire. It takes longer to tell it than do it, with a little
practice.
My board will handle several depth size frames.
I made up an electric embedder, powered with a step-down AC
transformer. It has metal contacts that press against the wires
and heat them just enough that it sets them into the wax.
I also use the transformer with clip leads to pull wires from
capped frames, especially for cut comb.

Leland Hubbell

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