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kathcor New Bee
Joined: 16 Jun 2014 Posts: 1 Location: Niangua MO
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 1:54 pm Post subject: Cross comb across 5 bars |
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I need to know how to reattach comb to top bar after removing the comb because of cross-combing. The comb appears to be straight, but crossing the bars. I was thinking of approaching them from the opposite side of the hive, cutting the comb off and reattaching them to an empty bar and replacing them in the order they are in. I just need to know how to keep the comb up on the bar until the bees can reattach to bar. Any help is very much appreciated! Sooner, rather than later.
Oh, and one of the combs is attached to the leader board. |
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Dexter's shed Scout Bee
Joined: 16 May 2014 Posts: 307 Location: Grays, Essex, UK
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AugustC Silver Bee

Joined: 08 Jul 2013 Posts: 613 Location: Malton, North Yorkshire
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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Firstly have someone to help
A second pair of hands is essential and the bees are going to get more than a little upset with you.
I am pretty sure you're going to want to shake all the bees off before you start. Then there are lots of ways of attaching. Some easier than other with new comb.
The easiest I think is to use hair grips attached to a bar using wire or cable ties. You can have these ready-to-go so it is cut and transfer.
Some people use "wire-hooks" on the topbar and hook the comb on. I think this might not work with fresh white comb as it is quite fragile.
I have reattached broken comb using a masking tape "girdle" this works really well as the bees just chew it off when they are done needing it. I can see this would be a real pain though for multiple combs.
If you are going with reattaching hair grip is probably your best option |
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madasafish Silver Bee
Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 882 Location: Stoke On Trent
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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I find rubber bands work perfectly... |
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trekmate Golden Bee

Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 1137 Location: UK, North Yorkshire, Bentham
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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AugustC wrote: | Some people use "wire-hooks" on the topbar and hook the comb on. I think this might not work with fresh white comb as it is quite fragile.
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This is many wire hooks:
http://www.thegardenacademy.com/BK_-_Rescue_Frames.html |
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Amber Nurse Bee
Joined: 09 Oct 2011 Posts: 47 Location: Chorley, Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 5:24 pm Post subject: Cross comb across 5 bars |
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Thanks for the tip Trekmate, I used your friend's version of the rescue bars (with just a slight modification) on broken comb today and it worked perfectly. Such a simple idea. I used strong cage wire from B+Q rather than rabbit cage wire as I couldn't find a UK supplier who sold small quantities.
Can anyone tell me how to upload images?
Amber |
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Dexter's shed Scout Bee
Joined: 16 May 2014 Posts: 307 Location: Grays, Essex, UK
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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open a photobucket account, post your pictures there, then copy and paste the url to here |
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Amber Nurse Bee
Joined: 09 Oct 2011 Posts: 47 Location: Chorley, Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:30 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Dexter. |
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Amber Nurse Bee
Joined: 09 Oct 2011 Posts: 47 Location: Chorley, Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:44 am Post subject: |
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Here's the Photobucket link (I hope) to 2 images of the rescue bars. The second one shows how the bars fit snugly because the support wire fits into the sawn kerf.
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s100.photobucket.com/user/bees5/embed/slideshow/"></iframe> |
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Amber Nurse Bee
Joined: 09 Oct 2011 Posts: 47 Location: Chorley, Lancashire, UK
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Dexter's shed Scout Bee
Joined: 16 May 2014 Posts: 307 Location: Grays, Essex, UK
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 10:49 am Post subject: |
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well done |
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johno Guard Bee
Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 60 Location: Limerick, Ireland
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Amber.
I suppose this post is too late to help you with your urgent problem, but it might be worth considering if your hive is still in bad shape. I recently split a hive and moved cut comb from frames to top bars. I came up with a system for attaching the comb that I haven't seen used anywhere else, but in my opinion it is well worth considering. I did a quick inspection today and I am extremely happy with the results. All 4 top bars had well attached comb, which tells me that the hooks held the comb securely while the bees worked on it. One of the hooks I used fell out during the inspection, with minimal damage to any cells. This demonstrated to me that it is easy to remove the hooks after the comb is fully secured.
I posted a preamble outlining the plan before I attempted the transplant. You can find that post here.
I took some photos during the procedure and wrote up a summary of how it went. You can find the description of my method in this thread.
Unfortunately I forgot to bring my phone to take more pictures during the inspection today. I'll be checking them again in about 12-14 days, and I'll be sure to write a followup report after that.
best of luck |
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MikeRobinson Foraging Bee
Joined: 01 Apr 2012 Posts: 201 Location: Upper Northwest Georgia, USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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One thing to watch out for is that the hive should be perfectly level in both dimensions. |
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