82 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



are six in number, including the top and 

 bottom ones, and are made by folding one 

 inch strips of tin, three times, so as to make 

 a stiff rod of metal. Thej^ are 10 inches in 

 length, and our revolving frame is 10 inches 

 one way, and 11 the other. Eor greater se- 

 curity against sagging, we rmi a similar rod 

 of metal, up and down, across the middle of 

 these bars, and still anotJier lies flatwise 

 across this, to brace the whole, something 

 like a truss bridge. This gives a surface 

 very stiff, and yet very light. The wire cloth, 

 which should be tinned, like all the other 

 metal work, is made of stiff wire, 5 meshes 

 to the inch. It may be well to remai-k here 

 that neither zinc nor galvanized iron should 

 ever be used about honey utensils. The 

 acid principle in the honey, quickly acts on 

 all oxidizable metals, and galvanized iron 

 though bright in ajipearance, quickly poisons 

 the honey, or even pure water, as has been 

 proven by experiment. Two sheets of wire 

 cloth, 15 inches long by 10 wide are needed 

 for an L. extractor. They are simply laid 

 inside agamst the metal bars and tacked 

 with solder. To cover tlie ragged edges at 

 the top. and bottom, we fold a strip of light 

 tin 10 inches long by i inch wide, at a right 

 angle, so as to make a square trough, as it 

 were; this is soldered on tlie top rod, so as 

 to cover the upper edge of the wire cloth. 

 A strip of wire cloth, 15 inches long, and 4 

 wide, with the edges hemmed by folded 

 strips of tin, is put across the bottom, to sup- 

 port the frames. Two inches from each end, 

 it is bent at right angles, and then i inch 

 from each end, still again, that it may catch 

 securely over the lower bar of the frame. 

 The frame is completed by the cross pieces 

 at the top and bottom, to hold the two wire 

 cloth frames at the right distance apart. 

 These are strips of heavy tin 14 inches wide, 

 by 11 inches long. A seam is folded on each 

 edge, so that the bars are left only 1 inch 

 wide when finished. At each end, a i inch 

 is folded square, to catch over the outside of 

 tlie frame where it is soldered. 



Kow to attach this frame to the shaft, is a 

 matter somewhat important; for if we use 

 too nuich of a broad surface, with our arms, 

 they will "blow" like a fanning mill, and we 

 shall have a current of air, that will carry 

 with it a fine spray of honey, over the top of 

 the can. This is a most grievous fault, for 

 who likes to have honey daubed over his ' 

 clothingV Oiu- first machine was made so ' 

 that tlie combs revolved only i inch below 

 the to]) of the can, and yet we never had a ! 

 particle of honey thrown over. Tliis frame ' 



was made very light, indeed, and when heav- 

 ier and stronger machines were made for 

 sale, we were much puzzled to hear an occa- 

 sional complaint, that the honey was thrown 

 over the top of the can, in a fine spray. I soon 

 found by experiment, that it was caused by 

 the braces being placed flatwise to the line 

 of motion. How to make them strong and 

 stiff, without catching the air, was the prob- 

 lem. We do it nicely, by using 12 braces, 

 made of heavy tin, with a seam folded as 

 just mentioned. The 12 are formed of six 

 pieces. The 6 pieces are laid across each 

 other in pairs, forming 3 letter X"s. Each 

 letter X, has a hole punched at the crossing, 

 large enough for the shaft to be driven 

 through; when it is soldered securely, the 

 ends are bent down, and attached to the cor- 

 ners of the frame as shown in the engraving. 

 The lower X, also supports the M'ire cloth 

 that the frames rest on, by being tacked with 

 solder where it passes them. 



The gearing is attached to this revolving 

 frame, by driving the small gear wlieel, into 

 the end of the hollow shaft, and soldering it 

 securely. The casting is first well tinned by 

 a soldering iron, that there may be no slip- 

 ping loose. 



MAKING THE CAN. 



There is nothing difficult about this, except 

 the bottom of the can. It had been for a 

 long time, quite a problem to get a strong 

 stiff bott'^m, without some kind of a wooden 

 support, but I struck on the idea, while try- 

 ing to devise some kind of a bottom that 

 would let the honey all out, the gate or fau- 

 cet being the lowest part. I will tell jiou, 

 presently, how I did it. The top edge of the 

 can, must be stiff and rigid; more so than we 

 can get it, by any kind of a wire or rod. I 

 found some very stiff hoops, that were made 

 for milk cans, and it is these I would advise. 

 They are so made as to give great stiffness, 

 with but a small amount of metal. 



We present a view of a cross-section of the 

 hoop. The concave side, of course 

 being inward. A, is the hoop and 

 B, is the tin, of which the can is 

 formed. The can is made of four 

 sheets of 14x20, IX tin. For an L. 

 frame, we need a hoop just 17 inches in di- 

 ameter. For large sizes, we use 20 inch 

 hoops. The two sizes mentioned will ac- 

 commodate almost any frame used, and we 

 tlierefore furnish gearing for only these two 

 sizes. After you have made the body of the 

 can, and ha'S'e your hoop nicely soldered on. 

 you are ready foi- the bottom. 



Lock two of the sheets together, r.ul cut a 



