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Things Used to Prepare Top Bars

Here are a few of the items I have found helpful in making foundation starter strips for use with top bars, and for waxing the strips to the bars.

1. This piece of "masonite" (hardboard) is soaked in cold water then dipped into melted beeswax. The temperature of the wax, speed of dipping, and number of dips determines the thickness of the sheet. After dipping, the board is immersed in cold water a gain, and in a few seconds two sheets of thin wax can be removed from the board.

2. Two bread pans are stacked to make a double boiler. Water is placed in the bottom pan. Beeswax and a brick are in the top pan. The brick simply serves to displace some of the wax, but it does heat up and serves as a temperature buffer for the melted wax. On an electric stove, it takes about two hours for the wax to melt once the water in the bottom pan begins to boil.

3. This is a thin sheet of wax on which I have impressed the foundation pattern using a mold made with rubber stamp polymer. The mold is not shown in this photo. I don't really think that the use of a foundation mold or press is necessary, for the be es usually build from the edge of the wax strip downward, then upward too. I have used starter strips of paper that has been dipped in melted beeswax. These make good starter strips, but if wax and paper are presented to the bees at the same time, the b ees will work the wax first. The strip shown in the photo is one of four that results from one dip of the board...I cut the strip from either side into two strips. The strip is still wider than necessary. It can be cut into at least once again. From on e dipping of the board, enough starter strips can be made to fill 8 top bars.

4. To melt beeswax, I use a hotplate, boiler with some marbles in the bottom to make the boiling water bump the wax 'pitcher' less. After the wax has melted, I place a strip of foundation in the groove, hold the bar tilted a bit, and pour a stream of wax which runs along the foundation thereby waxing the foundation into the groove. It can be done very rapidly. I usually wax only one side, the side opposite the notch.

5. A top bar turned upside down. The starter strip is inserted into the groove then waxed in using the melted wax in the tin-can 'pitcher'. I put a 3/8 x 3/4 inch notch in the center of each of my bars. This makes it easy to see how far the bees have worked in the hive, it provides alternate exits and ventilation if desirable, and the notch can be used to provide a path to a super if that is desired.

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