Fig. 56.—One-piece V-grooved section. (From Gleanings.)
Section holders ([fig. 57]) with sections folded and in place, each section supplied with thin foundation, preferably full sheets, but at least guides, should be in readiness before the opening of the harvest. Forty to fifty sections for each hive should be prepared. One-piece sections, if bought in the flat, should be placed in the cellar for two or three days before folding. If the section back of the V-joints is then moistened slightly they can be set up rapidly without breakage. Sections made of white poplar are by far the neatest looking and do not cost much if any more than basswood, so that bee keepers might show their disapproval of the wholesale destruction of our basswood or linden timber by resolutely refusing to buy sections made of that wood. The four-piece sections, if well made, are preferable to the one-piece. The latter do not keep their shape as firmly as the four-piece sections, which are made with lock joints at all the corners.
Fig. 57.—Super with sections and section holders in place: A, super; D, separator; E, sections; F, follower; G, wedge. (From Gleanings.)
The foundation for sections should be the quality known as "thin surplus" or, preferably, if full sheets be used, "extra-thin surplus." These grades are made of selected, light-colored wax, and 1 pound furnishes full sheets for 100 to 125 standard sections (4¼ by 4¼ inches). The sheets should be cut no larger than 3¾ inches square. These will take up about three-sixteenths of an inch in fastening, which will leave nearly one-half inch space between the lower edge and the bottom piece of the section and allow the foundation to stretch while being drawn out. This is necessary, otherwise the partially completed comb will bulge as soon as it reaches the bottom of the section. In cutting foundation either for sections or frames one edge—the one to be attached—should be perfectly straight. To secure this not more than six to ten sheets (depending on their thickness) should be laid in one pile, and a sharp, thin-bladed knife, as well as a straight rule, used. Two or three piles may be laid side by side and with a rule long enough to reach across them all a dozen to thirty sheets can be cut at a time. Dipping the knife in warm water facilitates the work.
The sheets are fastened in the section by the use of one of the machines mentioned on page 52. They secure the wax to the wood by pressure combined in some instances with heat. Fig. 40 shows one of these. The simplest form consists merely of a sliding lever hinged to a block. It is intended to be fastened by means of screws to a table or bench, and is then ready for use when the lever is moistened with honey, starch water, or soapsuds along the edge which is to touch the wax sheets. The foundation is laid flat on the top piece of the section in such a way that the straight edge passes the center line one-eighth of an inch, and the whole is then slipped under the lever. The latter is brought down with a sliding motion toward the operator and at the same time the foundation is bent up at right angles to the top piece. If the wax is slightly soft it will adhere firmly. A heated brick placed before the pile of starters will keep the edges soft enough if the work is done in a moderately warm room.
Starters half to three-fourths inch in width are sometimes used at the bottoms of sections to secure firm attachment of combs there. Bees incline to gnaw these bottom starters away unless the top pieces of foundation reach within one-half inch of them. Top starters an inch or less in width may be used alone as comb guides when it is desirable to avoid great outlay for foundation.
The use of strips of tin or wood as separators ([fig. 57, D]) between the sections insures straight combs with smooth surfaces, thus convenient to handle and ship.
The sections furnished with starters or full sheets of foundation are slipped with separators into supers and piled away ready for use as soon as the harvest opens.