AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



611 



My hands have never been able to do 

 that with any sections I have had. When 

 folding, I toss them into basket crates 

 (those that hives were received in) and 

 leave them there until ready to put foun- 

 dation in, 



INSERTING FOUNDATION. 



We use the Gray press. It is made to 

 screw fast to a table or bench. 1 think 

 I have a better plan: Take two 2x4's, 

 4 feet long; one 2x4, 2 feet long, and 

 one 2x6, 2}4 feet long. Form a triangle 

 of the first three named, and place the 

 2x6x2K piece upright in the angle 

 formed by the two long pieces of the tri- 

 angle, and nail or bolt it fast. 



On top of the upright nail a short piece 

 of 2x6 horizontally. Next, make a floor 

 on your triangle at the wide end, and 

 screw your press on the top of the up- 

 right, just as you would on a table. 

 Place a chair or stool on the little floor 

 for the operator. 



This makes a stand that you can put 

 anywhere you wish, and the weight of 

 the operator makes it stand solid in any 

 place. You can place it any room where 

 it will be most convenient. 



SOFTENING FOUNDATION. 



Take some tin — old pails or fruit cans 

 are as good as any — and make a box 10 

 inches long, 7 or 8 inches wide, and 4 

 inches deep (the exact size is immaterial), 

 using two pieces of board 4x10 for the 

 sides, the bottom and ends being of tin. 



Now, put in a second or false bottom, 

 of tin, fitting pretty close at the ends, but 

 having a slit, }i inch by 3 or 4 inches, 

 cut out of each side near the center. To 

 put this bottom in, start a small nail near 

 each corner, 1 inch or less from the bot- 

 tom, lay bottom No. 2 on them, and drive 

 tacks above. Make another bottom of 

 tin, about %" the length, of the box, and 

 just a little wider, crowd it down almost 

 to bottom No. 2 and close up to one end, 

 nailing through its edges into the wood 

 sides. Have it so wide that it will be 

 concave when crowded in. Invert this 

 box across the press just back of the 

 head or presser-block. 



Make a little shelf on the upright or 

 stand that supports the press underneath 

 your box, and so it will not interfere with 

 the treadle. On one end of the shelf put 

 a lamp* and on the other end put a dish 

 of water and the brush for moistening 

 the presser-block. Arrange the lamp so 

 that the chimney will come up close to 

 the concave bottom. The concave will 

 throw the heat to the opposite end, where 

 it strikes the second bottom, passes back 

 to the center, and then up against the 



first bottom — or, rather, top, as we now 

 have it. 



This system of tops is to distribute the 

 heat from the lamp. To secure perfectly 

 even distribution of heat, I found it nec- 

 essary to put in a second concave or 

 fourth top, about half the length of the 

 box. On top of this box lay a piece of 

 cloth, or burlap, and on this a frame 

 made of three pieces of board, about 3 

 inches wide, nailed together like three 

 sides of a box without bottom or top, the 

 open side to the front, and the back lean- 

 ing just a little from the operator. 



Light the lamp and place the sheets of 

 foundation on top of the ' box, with the 

 edge that is to be pressed onto the sec- 

 tion downward, and leaning back enough 

 to stand. Put from 20 to 40 sheets on 

 at first, and as soon as they are ready to 

 press place another bunch on, so that by 

 the time the first lot is done they will be 

 ready. Have the foundation cold enough 

 to be handled without bending or dent- 

 ing it, and so that the sheets will not 

 stick together. 



If properly managed, when you place 

 the sheet in the section to apply the 

 pressure, the edge will be almost melted, 

 and the bulk of the sheet so cold and 

 stiff that, when you turn up the section 

 and give the foundation a push with your 

 thumb, it will hang in the section as 

 straight as a board. 



Place your crates of sections at the 

 left side, and empty supers at the right 

 and back of the operator. Have a box 

 or stand at the right and front, and close 

 enough to be in easy reach, on which to 

 place the super to receive the sections as 

 fast as they are filled with foundation. 



Follow these directions and you will 

 have things so handy, that it is a question 

 of your nimbleness how many sections 

 you can fill in a day. One day I put in 

 full sheets of foundation in 1,400 sec- 

 tions in b]4 hours, taking the sections 

 from crates just as tumbled in from the 

 folder, and leaving them in the supers 

 ready for the separators and keying up. 

 The foundation was cut before. 



CUTTING FOUNDATrON. 



I made a box, as long as the sheets, 

 and half an inch wider than two sheets. 

 One end is left out, and the box is deep 

 enough to hold 80 sheets — 40 in each 

 bunch. Commencing at the closed end, 

 saw cuts are made down through the 

 sides, making each division 3% inches, 

 which is the width I use. Have the 

 foundation quite cold (near ireezing is 

 best), and fill the box and drop in little 

 blocks at the side, to hold the foundation 

 firm. Lay pieces of board on top to put 



