> That is what I did in my TBH, as per Satterfeilds website.  Worked great
> - the bees seemed to work the face of the strip in a ddition to the edge
> unlike some of the reports of them starting on the edge of foundation
> and having a tenuous attachment to the bar.
>
> Keith

I used 1/4" plywood strips in grooves (dados) in the top bars.  I left about
1/4" exposed, and coated the strips with beeswax.  It works well in that the
bees seem to "know" exactly where to draw comb - they fill it out fully from
side to side, and very straight.

The only disadvantage so far is that this is the primary attachment point:
the bees don't seem very inclined to "buttress" the top of the comb out
against the bar to make it stronger.  In fact, they seem to make a stronger
connection to the sides of the hive than the top bar.  The top bar combs
(cross section) tend to look somewhat like this:

=======
|               |
===||===
     ***
     ***
     ***
     ***
     ***
       *

This is not a real problem as long as I'm careful in handling the combs.
Next time I build TBH's I'll make the strips a little shallower, which I
think should encourage a stronger connection to the top bar itself.

Todd.

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