130 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



As moving bees is one of the most disagreea- 

 ble as well as dangerous operations in bee- 

 keeping we may well read what he has to say 

 with profit. — Ed.] 



CLEANING SECTIONS BY MACHINERY. 



How to Convert Old Sewing-machines into Section- 

 cleaners. , 



BY J. A. GOLDEN. 



I inclose a photograph of my improved sec- 

 tion cleaner and polisher. The improved 

 feature consists of a revolving belt instead of 

 a wheel, as illustrated in Auierican Bee Jour- 

 nal, page .').H, 1898 ; and as the photograph 

 gives a better explanation of the belt device as 

 being far superior to tliat of tlie wheel, it is 

 unnecessar}' for a long arlicle. 



golden's section-cleaner 



Nos. 1 and 2 are wooden wheels 3 inches 

 wide and. 4 inches in diameter. No. 3 is where 

 a tension screw passes up through the table 

 by reaching under, and a turn raises or lowers 

 the frame holding wheel No. 2, thus tighten- 

 ing the belt or loosening it as desired. This 

 frame is hinged to the table at the further 

 side by the use of a belt. The face of the 

 section comes in full contact on the flat sur- 

 face of the belt between the wheels, the wheels 

 so arranged as to revolve as closely as possible 

 together. The belt revolves at a high speed. 



The section is held between the hands cross- 

 wise of the belt, thus avoiding any danger of 

 cutting the section through at the folding 

 corners. Then turn the section and merely 

 touch the ends and edges of the section, and 

 the work can not be excelled by any other 

 method known to the bee-keeping fraternity 

 the world over. By using the wheel, but a 

 small portion comes in contact at one time as 

 the section is glided over the wheel; thus you 

 will at once see a great advantage gained by 

 the improved belt arrangement. If a coarse 

 grade of sandpaper is used it accomplishes the 

 work much quicker ; however, we prefer a 

 medium grade. 



I hope The A. I. Root Co. will construct a 

 machine of simple form, and actually test the 

 belt improved device, and tell the bee-frater- 

 nity what they think of our idea of a section- 

 cleaner. 



I am very doubtful if 

 this belt - revolving sec- 

 ton cleaner and polisher 

 will ever have its peer ; 

 and I am satisfied there 

 is not a bee keeper in the 

 United States, who pro- 

 duces section honey for 

 the markets, after seeing 

 it perform the work, but 

 will procure one. 



As we freely donated 

 the wheel device to the 

 fraternity, the belt im- 

 proved device will be pro- 

 tected by letters-patent. 

 Reinersville, O., Jan. 15. 

 [When the arlicle on 

 page 3-") of the Auierican 

 Bee Journal for 1898 ap- 

 peared, referred to above, 

 from the pen of Mr. 

 Golden, I was interested, 

 and asked for the loan of 

 the engraving that went 

 with it ; and by the court- 

 esv of the editor of our 

 esteemed co temporary I 

 am able to reproduce it 

 in our columns. It is the 

 one showing Miss Flody 

 operating the machine. 

 *' Soon after, I received a 



communication with two 

 photos, from Mr. Golden, 

 one of which showed an 

 improvement on his for- 

 mer machine. I have had 

 half-tones made of both 

 for our own columns, and they are shown 

 herewith also. 



Not having tried any of the section-cleaning 

 machines, I know nothing about them from a 

 practical point of view ; but when friends As- 

 pinwall and Golden say they do their work 

 satisfactorily and rapidly, no one is more 

 ready to believe it than I. I can not imagine 

 how we could have been so stupid all these 

 years as not to see that sections could be 

 cleaned by a machine causing a rapidly mov- 

 ing surface of sandpaper to press against them 



