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For those that make your own hives/rooves, have anyone used a sheet metal folder for bending the litho plate or thin aluminium sheets?

What a useless piece of equipment! I bought it with my brand new GasVap 18months ago and it's been playing up from day one. Despite filling it there's barely a flame on it which is totally inadequate to carry out it's purpose of heating the Oxalic. Has anyone else had problems with theirs? What...

I won't be able to bottle my honey for a few weeks and although I have it contained in the house, it's still cold. I have everything to make a honey warming cabinet except the time! As a result I was thinking of getting a brewers heat pad. Has anyone used one for this purpose and if so, how...

Has anyone used a set of magnifying glasses for grafting? If so which ones and how did you find them? Olivia9801

I was thinking of making the DIY QC incubator as per the one shown in The Apiarist when it dawned on me that just a couple of years ago I bought a very good Brinsea poultry egg incubator that regulated humidity as well. Has anyone used such an incubator for bringing on QC's? Olivia9801

I'm fed up of my standard sized bee smoker running out of smoke prior to me completing my hive inspections. Subsequently I'm debating about buying a Jumbo Sized smoker. Has anyond used one of these and if so how did you find it? Olivia9801

There's only a limited number of tinted Masonry paint available and was wondering if any of you have succeeded in using alternative colourings? Would acrylic paints work in tinting Sandtex? Would like to know of your results. Regards

Well what a useless piece of junk the blowtorch is that came with my Gas Vap! It's their Andre James version and I used it on three hives of mine last year. It's been carefully stored in the cardboard box it came in since then and it's useless. I've tried and tried filling it as per it's...

Can anyone advise on how easy it would be to rectify a defect I have on two of my urns that I use for the boiling of my frames? One of them cuts out when it gets to a certain temp whilst the other doesn't heat at all. It's not the fuses. Would like to know from anyone who has repaired...

I may buy a second hand Buffalo soup kettle to melt my wax, but does anyone have a proper wax melter they no longer use that they would be willing to sell?

Does anybody use shallow Drone wired foundation in their supers in conjunction with Manley frames? I'm getting my supers ready and about to order this year's foundation. I'm going to use Manleys for the first time to see what difference this makes to my honey crop this year compared with normal...

Are colonies just as vulnerable in the winter to CBPV or not?

I think it would be good to hear from those that do make their own foundation and which technique and equipment they use and the results they obtain. I’ve used an aluminium press previously but found the wax sheets were to thick which maybe due to me not getting the wax warm enough? I was very...

Does anyone melt bees wax using a Buffalo soup pot? If so how do you find it? Regards Olivia9801

I've only used the well known pens for marking my Queens and get disappointed by how much they fade/get chipped off. Subsequently I'm thinking of the alternative coloured dots you can buy. Has anyone used these and if so what adhesive do you use?

I’ve been using the traditional Queen marking pens for a while and have often found that at the worst time when using them, they haemorrhage their ink either all over the poor Queen or hive/frame. Can anyone recommend and alternative pen? Olivia9891

Does anyone have any of the good Apideas they no longer use that they would be willing to sell?

I saw a custom made bee suit yesterday whereby there was a stiffener built in to the top of the veil. This is to prevent the face of the veil from collapsing which I find with mine even though its from a very well known British manufacturer. Its quite simple and you can easily disengage it at...

I’ve got two very good bee suits but would like a zipped jacket version to enable that quick set up situation without having to put the full suit on. I was thinking of going same price range which for jackets is about £160-£180. However, after viewing the other options, I’m tempted to think...

Is there anyone who no longer uses their Apideas and would be willing to sell and post them? I enjoy using them for my Queen rearing and woukd like a few more. Thank you.