Tabletop Hive Frame Uncapper

Designed primarily for the small-scale beekeeper, a Tabletop Hive Frame Uncapper is designed to allow one to uncap a comb-filled frame in a matter of seconds, not minutes. Some makes/models work by breaking open, via circular cutting knives, the capped cells on both the sides of the comb, each frame being manually pushed through the knife-holding shafts. With others, the frames are placed in the chain-driven carrier and hand-cranked through the uncapper where milled rollers slice into the cappings on both sides or are manually pushed through a steam-heated knife. There’s also a model that cuts the cappings from both below and above the frame as it passes on a conveyor between rotating flails.

Cost: $400-$2,300

Impairment Category: Back, Lower extremity, Strength/endurance, Upper extremity