Hello again, As I hinted in my earlier post, I would like to start some discussions with a more positive spin. Hopefully we can share some new or even resurrect some old ideas to make beekeeping easier and more fun. This one is going to be on my favorite tools used in beekeeping but not designed for beekeeping. Air Compressor: This is by far the leader of the group. For years I painstakingly nailed frames together, 10 nails per frame, plus 3 or 4 to hold the foundation cleat. It seemed to take forever. I then bought an air compressor for an unrelated job. Coupled with a pneumatic stapler I can whip out frames at an alarming rate compared to the old method. This year I built a frame nailing jig. That added to the speed. The only problem is all the boxes I have to paint to keep up with the frames. When I purchased my compressor they were still somewhat expensive. Now, because of imports, the price has dropped substantially making the compressor an affordable tool to anyone. While these newer less expensive models may not hold up to industrial-like tasks, they should be more than ample for the use an average beekeeper will have. For the price of what you get for a few cases of honey you can purchase a complete kit. In addition to nailing I have used it to pry apart two stuck five gallon buckets. One little blast of air down the side will free any set of buckets. My honey house is close to my workshop and occasionally when bringing in supers I will notice some bees I did not remove. A quick grab of the air hose and the bees are flying back to their home and not carried inside. In addition to beekeeping I have found so many uses for my compressor that I can’t imagine going without it. Propane Torch: Another tool that has found many uses in my beekeeping jobs. I always seem to put off cleaning old frames until it is too cold for the solar wax melter to work. The torch works great here. Spot cleaning excluders is another good use. I have even used it to light a smoker in a hurry to GENTLY warm a fume board on a cool cloudy day. The year I broke my wrist, I used my torch to help in the uncapping of frames. I quickly heated the capping surface to soften them up and then used a capping scratcher. Ok, so here are two of my favorite atypical tools for beekeeping. What have you tried lately? Let us know, maybe if some of the ideas are very good Kim may string a few of them together for an article in Bee Culture. Then another group can share in the great knowledge contained in this list. Ron Ron Bogansky Kutztown, PA _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---