Frederick L. Hollen wrote:
>
> According to Marc Sevigny:>
> > 4. Any good ideas for embedding the wax foundations into the wire?  I don't
> > have an electric gizmo, and dont have an embedding wheel.  What do-it-yourself
> > methods are practical from things found around a typical house?
> >
> > That's it for now.  I'm excited and looking forward to this list's advice.
> >
> > Marc Sevigny
> > Harvard, Mass
> >
>
I use a homemade battery charger of about 5 amp output.  It is about
right for brood frames
with 4 cross wires.  About 5 or 6 secounds heats the wire about right.
For super frames of
2 or 3 cross wires I put a length of wire in series with the battery
charger about the length
of the 2 0r 3 missing cross wires.  Lay the foundation over the cross
wires but not flat on
the cross wires.  Let the hooks ride up slightly on the top bar to take
the weight of the
foundation off the cross wires.  The reason for this is that when the
cross wires start to heat
up they can melt into the verticle wires and short out.  This can cause
the wires to burn through
the foundation. Use a piece of masonite or plywood about 1 inch smaller
than the foundation all
the way around to press the foundation into the cross wires.  Turn off
the battery charger and
press the foundation down at the same time.  Nail a small block of wood
to the center of masonite
as a handhold to make it easier to use.  My charger has an ammeter on it
and by watching it you
can tell if you are getting a short with the verticle wires and when the
wires are hot.  The amp
reading will start at about 4 amps and taper to about 2 amps when the
wires are hot.  You can use
a larger charger and use a longer wire in series with it.  A simple low
voltage transformer will
work instead of the battery charger.
A simple wiring baord can be made using a piece of 3/4 inch plywood.
Nail a board across the top
about the same dimensions as the top bar.  Nail and glue 4 small pieces
to set against the top and
bottom of the the side bars to hold the frame securely square.  Drive 3
nails from the bottom side
to place 3 thread spools (wooden ones if you can find some) to run the
wires around the ends.
Use the same board to hold the frame while embedding the wires.
I have wired thousands of frames using this method and it works for me.
Vic