The foundation sheets as a guide for the bees, encouraging them to draw wax more rapidly and consistently, resulting in uniform cell sizes when they construct the comb on the frames. If you wish to create your foundation sheets from beeswax, the ideal tool is a Beeswax Mill Roller. This article will introduce you to how to make foundation sheets using Beeswax Mill Roller.

What is Beeswax Mill Roller

The Beeswax Mill Roller is a specialized piece of equipment to imprint impressions onto wax sheets. It consists of two roller drums configured closely together horizontally within a frame, typically crafted from materials such as cast iron. The surface of these rollers is adorned with an embossed honeycomb cell design. When a beeswax foundation sheet is passed between the rollers, the cell outlines are imprinted onto the sheet. Subsequently, the sheet is trimmed and utilized as a foundation sheet in Langstroth beehives.

How To Use Beeswax Mill Roller 

To create beeswax foundation sheets using a mill roller, follow these step-by-step instructions:

1. Prepare your mill roller by setting it up on a flat surface. 

For optimal results, attach the mill roller to a shallow bed capable of holding water.

2. Add water mixed with a small amount of detergent onto the shallow bed of your mill roller.

This water serves the purpose of wetting the wax sheets, preventing them from sticking to the roller drums.

3. Wet the roller drums with the detergent water.

Ensure the entire surface of each drum is adequately wet by rotating the drums while applying the water. If necessary, use a sponge or other absorbent material to achieve the desired wetness.

4. Place a pre-prepared sheet of beeswax onto the water bed of the mill roller.

ensuring both sides are moistened with the detergent water.

5. Pass the sheet of wax between the two roller drums.

Insert the sheet into the mill from the bottom side, allowing it to be pressed with cell outlines and released upward. Once the beeswax sheet is caught between the drum rollers, begin cranking the rollers to pass the sheet between them.

6. Once the entire sheet has traversed the mill roller drums, place it on the bed of the mill roller to re-moisten it.

Flatten out any warps and trim off any excess width from the sheet.

Helpful Tips for Optimal Results

– Mill rollers are precision equipment, requiring a specific distance between the roller drums to allow wax sheets to pass through and be properly pressed with cell outlines. Thus, it is crucial to ensure your wax sheets have an exact thickness.

– If the sheets of wax are too thin, they may not be adequately impressed with the cell outlines and could fail to be properly caught between the drum rollers, resulting in subpar results.

– Conversely, excessively thick sheets of beeswax may struggle to pass through the mill roller drums. Even when they do, the sheets can become excessively warped and elongated due to the excess wax.

Multi-sweet Beeswax Mill Rollers 

Multi-sweet Beeswax Mill Roller is a Cell Size 5.4mm/4.9mm Beeswax Mill Roller. This roller boasts various roller length options, including 195mm, 250mm, 280mm, 310mm, 350mm, 450mm, and customizable measurements. The honeycomb cell pattern imprinting machine is composed of two plates joined by a hinge, facilitating easy mounting on a beeswax foundation press frame. These plates deliver excellent results, imprinting beautifully detailed beeswax foundation sheets.

When selecting a beeswax foundation press plate, it is crucial to consider the material used. Since the plates come into contact with beeswax, they must be food-safe. The plates for this beeswax foundation press are constructed from a food-safe, hard aluminum alloy. This alloy does not react with the wax, preserving its integrity. Furthermore, the durability of the aluminum alloy prevents the plates from warping, even when subjected to substantial pressure during pressing. Additionally, the plates easily release the wax foundation sheets once they have been pressed.

Besides that, we have the Electric Beeswax Foundation Machine and an Automatic Beeswax Foundation Machine, if you are interested in them, please feel free to let me know, and also you can find them on our site

The beeswax foundation press plates generate large-sized foundation sheets, which can be trimmed to fit beehive frames of varying depths, ranging from shallow to deep in Langstroth beehives.