10 to 9 Plastic Frame spacer

01 · WHY NINE

Deeper comb, a cleaner knife

With ten Hoffman frames in the box the side-bar shoulders touch one another and the spacing is fixed for you. Take one out and redistribute the remaining nine: each comb is drawn wider and stands proud of the timber, so the uncapping knife or fork rides on the wood instead of sinking into the wax. You also handle and spin one frame less per super. The catch shows up when you space them by eye: where the gap opens too far the bees build brace comb, and where it falls short they seal it with propolis.

02 · HOW IT WORKS

Ten teeth, nine notches

The comb has ten teeth and nine notches between them, all at the same pitch. You lay it across the top bars, the teeth drop into the gaps between frames and each top bar seats in its own notch; push, and the nine settle in one pass with nothing to measure. The closed central handle lets you pull with one hand while the other steadies the box, and the lattice-ribbed body keeps it from flexing when you push against frames glued down with propolis.

03 · WHAT IT IS AND ISN'T

A guide: use it, then lift it out

This is where the costly misunderstanding sits: it does not stay inside the hive. Set, lift, move to the next box. If you want the spacing to hold on its own you need something else — castellated spacers on the runners, which lock every lug in place, or clip-on spacers fitted to the frames themselves. Once the nine frames are opened out the Hoffman shoulders no longer touch and nothing holds them, so they shift in transport and want re-spacing every time you open up.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Two conditions. First, the box has to be a ten-frame box: the comb is one fixed length. An eight-frame box is too narrow for it to go in, and a British National or Commercial is laid out for eleven frames, which is not what this comb sets. Second, and this is what disappoints people: it works on drawn comb. On fresh foundation, opening the gaps too early gives wavy and cross-built comb; draw it out on ten, then go to nine. And if what you want is eight frames, the eight-frame tool is the one, not this.