Making your own wax cups requires little, but the simple tools determine how uniform the result is.

The basic equipment

• Dipping dowels: Wooden rods with a rounded tip, sized to a queen cell base
• Wax pot: To melt wax under control
• Cold water: To cool the dowels between dips
• A holder to work several dowels at once

The method

• The dowels are dipped in cold water and shaken off
• Then dipped briefly in molten wax several times, each time slightly less deep
• After cooling the cup twists off

The first dip determines base thickness; the following ones build the wall.

The wax temperature

This is what determines the result.

• Too hot: The wax does not adhere and runs off; the wall becomes too thin
• Too cold: The wax becomes too thick and lumpy

Wax must also not be overheated: that degrades it, and the larva lies directly in it.

Which wax

Use cappings wax — the cleanest source there is, never brood and carrying the fewest residues.

Wax from old brood comb is unsuitable: fat-soluble substances accumulate precisely in wax, and the larva lies in that material.

Several at once

A holder with several dowels makes the work considerably faster and keeps the cups uniform. For small numbers a single dowel suffices.

Safety

Wax is melted in a water bath, not directly over a flame. Molten wax is flammable and the vapour ignites if overheated.