The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

February 2006

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The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

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By Dr Garth Cambray

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Following on from "Make your own honey extractor, this month gives some
handy guidelines to making a beeswax foundation mold.

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In modern beekeeping a sheet of beeswax is used as the starter for

encouraging the bees to build their honeycomb in the places the beekeeper
wishes them to build it. The foundation consists of a sheet of wax with the
natural honeycomb patterns of the bees on its surface.
To make a sheet of foundation two options exist - milling sheets of wax through
a roller mill with specially patterned rollers which then mill the sheets by
squeezing through the two rollers and leaving a honeycomb shape on their
surface. This is a high tech operation and requires a skilled operator and careful
maintenance of the milling machine.
The second option is to mould wax. If a simple negative template of a beeswax
sheet is available, pouring hot wax into it and closing the mould to allow it to
cool will create a wax sheet that is slightly thicker and more brittle than a
milled sheet but just as functional.

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Both a mill and a mould are

inherently quite expensive
devices, so once again, in the
interests of the development of
beekeeping in Africa and the
world, www.scienceinafrica.co.za
brings you some handy
bushmechanic tips on how to
make your own foundation
mould for about R250 (US$45).
What you will need:
600ml of Wacker Elastosil
M4514 RTV-2 catalyst hardened
silicone rubber.

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The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

Elastocil T21 Catalyst (40grams)

A sheet of good foundation, or
better still a sheet of plastic
foundation.
A roll of sticky tape.
A spatula.
Place the sheet of foundation on
a flat surface. Stick sticky tape
around the edges of it to create
a dam.
Mix the silicone very thoroughly
with the spatula - mix for at
lease 10 minutes, in all possible
directions - any unmixed
reagents will create small sticky
patches on the mould which will
waste countless hours of your
time later when you make
foundation, so be over cautious
with stirring here.

Mixing the silicone rubber with the

catalyst. Spend time here as any
unmixed patches will remain sticky
and ruin your mould.

Pour the silicone into the mould,

spreading it into the foundation
with the spatula so as to
displace any air bubbles from
the template foundation sheet.
Leave for 24 hours and pull the
mould off the template. Do the
whole thing again to make the
other half.
Congratulations, you now have a
mould!

Using your mould:

Make a hinged piece of metal
and place the two sheets on this
- don't bother trying to stick the

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Spreading the silicone rubber into the

template. Be sure to remove all
bubbles.

The completely poured mould. Wait 24

hours and remove mould.

The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

mould to the metal - catalyst

hardened silicone sticks to just
about nothing.
Keep some beeswax melted at
80C in a hot pot cooker. The
advantage of the hot pot cooker
is that it cannot heat hotter than
80C, so there is little danger of
boiling your wax or burning
yourself and your house down.
Keep a fire extinguisher handy
just in case - never pour water
on burning wax as it explodes
and kills you/removes your skin
painfully.

The mould removed from the template.

Dip the whole mould, including metal flaps into a basin of water containing half
a teaspoon of soap per litre. This coats the mould with something to stop wax
getting stuck to it.
Remove the mould, shake the sheets to remove excess water, reposition them,
pour wax over the mould liberally, close the mould and plop back in the basin
of water.
Remove the mould after 10 seconds and remove your sheet of wax.
Repeat the process.
It is possible, depending on the dexterity of the operator, to produce up to 50
sheets an hour with this system.

Dipping the mould sheets in water and sunlight (dish soap/teepol) liquid
solution.

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The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

Mould placed on hinged frame. Somehow the mould always aligns itself
so to get the right match of comb cells on each sid

Beeswax poured into the mould. Adding 5-10% by weight of propolis to

the wax before sieving increases wax yield and also decreases
brittleness of the wax. Propolis strengthened sheets are also better for
catch box strips.

Close the mould and press gently to eject excess wax.

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The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

Dip the entire mould into the water and soap mixture again and leave
for 10 seconds.

Remove the mould from the water and open.

Congratulations - you now have a nice wax sheet! Demonstration

courtesy of Mbongeni Ntantiso of Makana Meadery.

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The Bush Mechanic - DIY beeswax foundation mould

More information:
Garth Cambray is Director of Makana Meadery, makers of Honey Sun Mead
and other honey based products.
Sourcing Elsatocil:
In South Africa, Wacker Silicone type Elastocil M4514 RTV-2 Silcone and
catalyst are available from Specialist Composites, North End, Port Elizabeth.
They are contactable on 041 484 3747 or by e-mail at composites@mweb.co.za

Related articles:
The BushMechanic - make your own honey extractor

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