Considering the scarcity of supplies, Aaron asked "I must admit that I am quite surprized by this. I could speculate that the suppliers have decided that wooden sections are going by the wayside. Could this be so? Are we witnessing the end to an era?" As someone who knows a fair amount about comb honey production in the US, I am only surprised that Aaron was surprised. 20 years ago there were at least six manufacturers of the basswood equipment. For definitely the past 5 years, and I think longer, there has only been one manufacturer. the rest were done in by the popularity of the round sections, now known as Ross Rounds. The demise of the basswood sections has not been for lack of consumer demand, but due to the ease of production with round sections. A moderately skilled beekeeper should get 85% or better 'perfect' sections when using Ross Rounds, while 60% would be an excellent yield with the basswood sections. The primary difference in the yields is because the basswood sections are rectangular, with 90 degree angles for the corners. The round sections are, well, round. There are no 90 degree angles in nature, and it was hell to get the bees to fill basswood sections. They readily fill the round sections. The round sections offered the following additional advantages: 1. A super may be put together in less than 10 minutes, compared to twice that long for a basswood super. 2. The basswood provided a great surface for bees to propolize, and that was so unsightly that it had to be removed before sale. It was not uncommon to spend 5 minutes on each section just to remove propolis. 3. The 'cardboard/cellophane' container for the basswood sections was constantly damaged by prying fingers while on the store shelf. The round sections are sold in clear, hard plastic containers. All in all, beekeepers just abandoned the product when a superior product came along. Implicit in those decisions was a judgment that they could not sell basswood sections at a sufficient premium to make the beekeeper's return as profitable as round sections. If my information is correct, today's sole manufacturer of basswood sections only puts the equipment in production once over five years. The remaining time it sits there idle. Moreover, their last production run (intended to last five years) was only equal to a single year sales of round sections! Basswood sections can be ordered from Draper (as mentioned by Aaron), Kelley, and a few of the small suppliers of beekeeping equipment. Hogg sections, also mentioned by Aaron, are available from Dadant, Mann Lake, and perhaps one or two others. Ross Round equipment is available from all major dealers and many of the small dealers. Comb honey production today is no where near what it was in the early 1800's, before the extractor was developed. In those days, it was not uncommon to fill railroad cars and barges with basswood sections and send them to New York for consumption or shipment to Europe. Indeed, in many countries comb honey production has vanished. We are fortunate that round sections were developed and made generally available. As a result, I am confident and gratified that comb honey production in the US increases every year. Lloyd Lloyd Spear, Owner of Ross Rounds, manufacturer of comb honey equipment for beekeepers and Sundance pollen traps. http://www.rossrounds.com [log in to unmask]