Lloyd said:

> ...dealers are not informing beekeepers of how important
> maintenance is to the polystyrene equipment

A notable figure in the beekeeping community recently said
something on a related issue that made me think.  He said
"Jim, where's your hammer?"  I told him, and he said "Most
beekeepers DON'T KNOW where their hammer is, and don't really
want to go find it!"

He's got a point.  When Mann Lake invests in new capital equipment
dedicated to producing fully-assembled frames and supers at a
faster rate than their old equipment, I think we can call it a trend.
If some folks can't find their hammer, can they be expected to find
a paintbrush?

It may not be too long before even assembling your own supers,
let alone making them from scratch with your own table saw and
jigs seems as quaint and as outmoded as the use of basswood
sections seems to many of us today.

How long before pre-painted equipment is offered?

I don't care if I am becoming a walking anachronism, even to other
beekeepers. (Isn't this somewhat like being called "conservative"
by Amish folks?)  I like making sawdust, and I am a tool freak.
My wife my woodshop sessions "A Saw Screams At Midnight".
Hey, some guys go bowling.

> Repair with any good resin glue, before painting if possible.
> The best repair is to use both the resin glue and the gummy
> strips that are sold to repair wallboard

Has anyone figured out how to add handles to or carve handholds
in poly hive-top feeders?  I bought a bunch, I love 'em, the
bees love 'em, but I don't like the lack of something to grip
when lifting one that has a few gallons of feed in it.
Sometimes you need to remove a nearly full feeder to get at the
colony below, and I don't like the lack of something to grip.

I thought about carving handholds, but there just is not enough
wall thickness to make it seem like a prudent approach.

Is there a glue that will stand the stresses put on handles?

And are we 100% sure that all the various "polystyrene" hive
components are made of the same exact type of "polystyrene"?
I know nothing much about what is used in beehive components,
but I do know that there is good reasons for the many confusingly
similar, but still slightly different types of adhesives available.


   jim (Who had the misfortune to buy his son a beanbag
        chair without considering the effect of a 250-lb
        St. Bernard with untrimmed claws on the vinyl "bag"
        covering an estimated 46.3 billion polystyrene beads.)

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