BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The Clarke smoker is simpler than the Bingham, but hardly so efficient. Fig. 103 shows it in general view, and Fig. 104 is a sectional view. 'The bellows boards are 41 in. by 63 in., and nearly 3 in. thick. A 1-in. hole is made through one board, its centre being 21 in. from one end of the board, and midway across it. This is for the valve, which is simply a piece of stout leather nailed on one side and free to rise on the other, after the manner of a butterfly valve. At a distance of 13 in. from the opposite end of the other board, a 1-in. hole is bored, sloping from the front as shown in Fig. 104. This is to take the blast pipe. The boards are kept apart by a strong steel spiral spring, which is placed at the side of the valve, and more towards the back, just where the pressure of the hand goes. The boards at their widest part are 3 in. apart, and at the narrowest, 1 in.
The entire bellows of the Clarke smoker could easily be made by cutting out and planing the boards, boring the holes, and tacking on the valve; then the points could be brought together, and a slip_of leather, 4 in. long and 1 in. wide, tacked along them. The spiral spring, which could be made of hard brass wire, No. 18, b.w.a., could then be put in place, being fixed to the boards, either with a straight piece of wire left at both ends of the spring, or the ends of the spring could fit into holes bored partly through the boards. A bit of wire could then be bent so as to keep the boards 3 in. apart at the wide end while the leather was being glued and tacked on. The leather should overlap the piece already tacked to the front by about an inch. Basil leather will answer if better is difficult to obtain.
The fire box of the Clarke smoker should be made of stout tinplate. Its pattern is shown by Fig. 105. The circles there shown should be carefully scribed with a compass on the sheet of tin
Figure 105: Pattern of Funnel.
plate, and then cut out with a pair of snips. The straight edges should be turned over for \(\frac{1}{4}\) in., one up and the other down, and the piece bent into the shape of a funnel. The parts turned over will then catch into one another, and should have a little solder run along them after they have been hammered tightly together. The wide end of the funnel, for the distance of \(\frac{1}{8}\) in., is now to be turned straight out so as to take the bottom (Fig. 106), which is attached to it just as a tinnan fines a bottom to a can, except that after it is turned over once it is left standing out from the funnel, as seen in Fig. 104.
Before the bottom is fastened, it would be as well to make the tinplate diaphragm (Fig. 107) and fix it to the funnel. It is \(\frac{2}{4}\) in. in diameter, and is punched with a number of \(\frac{1}{8}\) in. holes. In bought smokers it is fitted in a kind of bead moulded on the funnel; but in the present case three or four projecting tongues are left, and these are turned over and fastened to the funnel with small rivets.
The bottom with its fire door cut out is shown by Fig. 106. The outer dotted line in this figure shows the part which will be turned over to embrace the funnel end. The door is a piece of tinplate large enough to cover the hole and to pivot on the rivet shown in Fig. 103. Its edges are turned over so as not to cut or scratch the hand of the operator.
Figure 106: Bottom of Funnel. Figure 107: Diaphrag of Clarke Smoker.
The tinplate blast pipe is 4\(\frac{1}{2}\) in. long, its bore tapering from \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. to slightly more than \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. The pipe is bent into the shape shown by Fig. 104, and extends to within \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. of the front of the fire holder. The whole of the sheet metal work is attached to the bellows with two screws, holes for which, 2\(\frac{3}{4}\) in. apart, must be punched within \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. of the base of the funnel. The blast pipe is hooked into the hole in the bellows made for its reception, and the screws are put in at the back, a couple of bits of tinplate tubing, 1 in. long, through which the screws pass, preventing the bellows and fire box coming in contact with each other.
## Chapter XII honey extractors.
The first of the extractors to be described in this chapter is of the Little Wonder pattern; it is useful to a bee keeper with two or three hives, but is unsuitable for a larger apiary, as only one comb at a time can be operated on. It is difficult to use, and if the honey is thick from natural causes or through cold weather the extractor cannot be made to revolve at a sufficiently high speed to clear the combs. Where a number of hives are worked for extracted honey, a geared cylinder extractor (described later in this chapter) is necessary.
To make the extractor (of which Fig. 108 is a side view showing the handle raised) a piece of clean, straight-grained red deal, 3 ft. 10 in. long by 1\(\frac{3}{4}\) in. square, is required. From one end cut off 7 in., and, beginning at about 6 in. from both ends, chamfer down to circles 1\(\frac{3}{4}\) in. in diameter, and fix ferrules about 1 in. long as shown at a (Fig. 108). Then insert two pieces of $-in. round iron, one 10 in. long and the other 4 in. long, for about 3 in. into the ends; the long piece should be at the top, and the short piece at the bottom. Take the 7-in. piece of wood, centre the ends, and bore a $-in. hole through from end to end and round the wood to 1\(\frac{3}{4}\) in. in diameter as shown at B (Fig. 108). Next bend two pieces of 1-in. by $-in. hoop iron about 2 ft. 9 in. long to the shape shown in Fig. 109. It will be well to make a rough template of the shape, and, if the iron is fairly good, the bending can be done with a hand vice after heating the metal in the fire. Placethese irons at c (Fig. 108), the method of fastening them being shown in Fig. 109.
For the can a piece of tinplate, 1 ft. 91 in. long by 1 ft. 31 in. wide, will be required to form the back ; the template used for bending the irons may be reduced 1 in. and used in shaping the tin as shown by Fig. 110. Four cleats a (Figs. 110 and 111) about 6 in. long, and two smaller ones b (Figs. 111 and 112), of stout tin, are soldered to the sides to hold the cage in position. Two pieces of tinplate, cut to the shape shown by Fig. 113, and allowing a $-in. margin round the outer edge for the joints, are required for the top and bottom ; the semicircular hole A (Fig. 113) is required in the 'top piece only. These pieces can be fixed to the back, and the joints folded and soldered. A piece of tinplate 91 in. by 33 in. is required for the front c (Fig. 112) ; the joints are turned over and soldered at the bottom and sides.
The front and bottom may be worked in one piece by making the bottom 7 in. wide instead of 4 in. as in. Fig. 113. The opening in the front should be strengthened with No. 11 b.w.g. wire run round, the tinplate being turned over it as at c (Figs. 110 and 111).
To complete the can,
Figure 109: Section of Little Wonder Extractor. Fig. 110. Section of Can and Cage.
is 120 _BEEHIVES AND BEE KEEPEERS' APPLIANCES_. should be used in making the can, or it will collapse when a heavy comb is being extracted. To hold the cage in position when the combs are in, a wire is placed across the front at E (Fig. 112); one end is fastened with a small wire staple soldered to the cage, and the other with a catch of double tin or wire.
The cage is of 11\(\frac{1}{2}\)-in. by 1\(\frac{1}{2}\)-in. oak or beech of the dimensions given in Figs. 108 to 112. The joints at the top may be dovetailed, and at the bottom, mortise-and-tenon joints may be used. A gauge line is run round the inside of the frame \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. from the bottom edge, and holes about \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. apart are bored with a fine bradawl. The holes in the sides should commence about 1\(\frac{1}{2}\) in. from the ends, and a space of \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. should be left at each side
Figure 113: Pattern for Top and Bottom of Extractor.
to allow the metal ends of the frames to pass through and bring the combs close to the wire of the cage. The holes should be bored at an angle as shown at a (Fig. 114) so as to strengthen the cage. No. 20 b.w.g. tinned wire should be threaded through the holes as shown in Figs. 112 and 114, the long wires being put in first and the cross wires interlaced with them.
Galvanised netting is sometimes used for the cage, but this is objectionable, as zinc should never be allowed to come in contact with honey.
Suitable wire can be obtained from makers of bee keeping appliances.
Wooden cleats are glued and nailed at each of the corners to keep the ends of the frames in position when extracting; the forms and positions of these are shown in Figs. 112 and 114.
An iron plate 3 in. square by \(\lx@sectionsign\) in., with a \(\frac{1}{2}\)-in. sinking in the centre, should be screwed at the corners to the floor of the room where the extractor is being used. The spike at the bottom of the extractor will work freely in the plate, and will prevent the spike slipping.
The same principle governs the action of the Little Wonder and cylinder extractors, the honey leaving the cells of the comb by centrifugal force, but, while in the Little Wonder the entire machine revolves, carrying comb, receptacle for honey, and
Figure 114: Corner of Cage of Little Wonder Extractor
any honey which has already been extracted, in the cylinder extractor as few parts as possible are made to revolve, and this is a decided advantage. The labour necessary to overcome the inertia of a large mass of material in starting and stopping is saved, and the decreasing weight of the comb, which is perceptible when it and its connections only are revolved, is an indication to the operator that the honey has been extracted.
For a given velocity, the nearer the comb is to the centre of revolution the greater will be the centrifugal force, but the honey in most of the cells will tend to press against their sides as well as leave them. To overcome this tendency the combs should be placed at an infinite distance from the centre of revolution. It is evident that practice more than theory is what will decide the best position for the combs, and from exhaustive experiments, Mr. Cowan has concluded that the outer surface of the comb should, during extraction, be placed 6 in. from the centre of the spindle round which it revolves. He has also decided that extractors which hold two combs at the time are preferable to those which hold four or more.
The cylinder extractor, then, consists of four distinct features : (1) the frame which holds and carries the comb baskets, (2) the comb baskets, (3) the cylinder, or barrel in which they revolve, and (4) the driving gear, or crank. Fig. 115 is a general view of the extractor ; Fig. 116 shows the extractor complete with the frame inside, the baskets being in place ; and Fig. 117 shows the frames, baskets, and crank handle.
For the frame forming the first item in the list, three sheets of tinplate, 17 in. by 12 in., are required. One of the sheets is cut into six strips 2 in. wide. The edges of tinplates are not always true when they come from the shop, and should therefore be pared until straight. Three strips should be joined together end to end, by turning \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. at the ends over, hooking together, hammering down flat, and touching with solder, as before described. These strips may now be cut to 45 in. in length each, and wired at both edges with wire about \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. in diameter, about No. 10 gauge. The wires are to be 44 in. long each.
The wiring is effected by turning the edges of the tinplate over for a distance of nearly \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. by means of a mallet and the stake ; the wire is then laid along the trough thus formed, and the edge of the metal hammered down so as entirely to envelop it. A good deal of tapping and some practice are required to make a neat bead.
As the cage is likely to be often smeared with
Figure 117: Frames, Baskets, etc.
honey, which gets in between the wire and tin, and there sets up fermentation, or becomes a constant source of dirt, the following plan for preventing this may be adopted if desired : Solder the tin along outside the wire, so that a nicely formed hollow is made, which can easily be kept clean, and has no corners for dirt (see Fig. 118). In this, as in every other part, use fine solder containing a large proportion of tin.
It is best to do all wiring while the tin is in the flat, not after it has been bent into shape.
The wire can be soldered in either before or after the bending, but it is easier to do it before. The tin is longer by 1 in. than the wire, but this should not be turned over until a later stage of the work is reached.
These wired strips of tin are now to be bent so as to form two rectangular bands, 12 in. by 10 in. ; the overlapping inch at the ends forms a good strong joint when thoroughly soldered. The bending can be done with a wooden vice, such as is usually found on a carpenter's bench, and should be as nearly as possible to a right angle, and the frame or band should not be in winding, but lie in the same direction.
Figure 119: Rectangular Band and Bridge.
that on the bench ; the wired edge should be turned outwards, leaving the inside surfaces flat.
Another sheet of tinplate must now be taken in hand, and two pieces, 12 in. by 3\(\frac{1}{2}\) in., cut off across it. These must be wired at both edges, with wires only 10 in. long placed in the middle, leaving 1 in. at each end free of wire; but the turned over edges of tin may be hammered down flat at the ends.
The unwired ends may now be turned up sharp where the wire terminates, thus forming a sort of tin stool 10 in. long, and with legs 1 in. high. These are to be fastened with solder and small rivet to the bands already made. They will, of course, bridge the band the narrow way, which is the only direction in which they will fit, and be equidistant from each short side. Fig. 119 is a diagram of one of the bands and bridges at its present stage. The bridges are for the purpose of attaching the spindle.
Figure 120: Pattern of Slide.
For the slides, cut four other pieces of tinplate, 16$ in. by 3$ in., and turn over and hammer down $ in. slack at each long edge of the entire lot; turn up also $ in. at one short edge, or end, and hammer down flat; but before any of this turning down is done it would be advisable to cut out rectangular pieces at the corners, so as to prevent the tin from being doubled too much. Fig 120 gives a pattern of a slide. The long edges are doubled down along the lines a b, the short one at c d. The long edges are to be then turned up along the line e g, and left standing at right angles to the broad part, and the short end along the line g a, the whole thus forming a kind of trough, open at one end, and having the other end double the height of the sides. A touch of solder in the corners will bind the edges firmly together, and make the work stronger. The sharp corners of the projecting end should also be nipped off, and rounded nicely with a file.
The bands may now be connected together with these slides, into which the comb baskets slip. Place one of the bands on the bench with the bridge up, and stand a slide, with the stopped end down, at one of the corners, its back surface being in contact with one of the long sides of the band, and pushed up as tightly as possible towards the corner. A small cramp and two pieces of wood can be used to hold the two firmly together, while the square is applied to see that the slide is at right angles to the band. A little solder is then run between the two, and a similar operation performed with the three other slides. The upper band can now be put over the ends of the four vertical slides, and if the work has been done carefully, it will be found to fit well, each slide going right into its corner. If, however, things are not true, the square can be applied, and the erring slide or slides found, unsoldered from the lower band, and set right. See that both bridgesare turned upwards so as not to form troughs to hold the honey, which they might do if turned the other way. Fig. 121 is a diagram of the work at this stage.
Small rivets could be used as well as solder to hold slides and bands together, but they are scarcely necessary ; but if used, their heads must not project into the slides, and hinder the baskets from moving freely up and down.
Figure 121: Bands, Slides and Bridges of Extractor.
Instead of this framework, a box 10 in. square and 15 in. high could be employed, having the slides soldered on to two of the sides, while the other two act as backs for the comb baskets. This would be found by many an easier piece of work, and possesses the additional advantage of being easily cleaned, and affording few corners for dirt to lodge in.
With regard to the comb baskets, half of one of the baskets is shown by Fig. 122,
which figure is drawn from a point near the basket and between the sides. Each basket consists of a bottom of wire netting, two sides of tinplate 11 in. high, and one end ; the other end is wanting, as it will form the top of the basket when in position. The other half basket is exactly similar to this, but a little narrower, so as to fit inside it, as can be seen in the lower part of Fig. 123.
The width of the outer half of the basket is such as to fit easily between the slides ; it may be \(9^{3}_{4}\) in. The distance between the two nettings can be varied from 11 in.
Figure 122: Half of Comb Basket.
to more than 2 in., as will be understood from Fig. 123.'
To make these baskets, the four pieces of netting should first be procured, cut accurately, two to 15 in. by 9g in., and the remaining two 1 in. narrower. They should then be bound round with tinplate which overlaps 1 in. at each side. To do this, lay the straight strips of metal, which will be 4 in. wide, on the bench, and the edges of the netting over them and halfway across. Then solder each 'wire to the tin, turn the tin over, and solder each wire to the turned-over part also, using plenty of solder and heat, so as to have every wire very firmly held in. By this means the netting has a metal frame, which will greatly strengthen it, and prevent it from sagging.
Strips of tinplate must now be soldered together to form four long pieces 41 in. long by 24 in. wide. The edges of these are to be turned over and hammered down to the extent of the usual 1 in., and one edge turned up at right angles, so that a section of the strips will form an L, one leg of which is 11 in., and the other 1 in. Each strip is then to be bent into such a shape as to form the three sides cf the half-basket shown in Fig. 122. In two of them the short side is 94 in. long, and in the other two 1 in. less. To bend the strips it will be necessary to cut the narrow rib with a chisel.
The framed netting can now be laid in position, and soldered firmly against the narrow rib, so that there are four thicknesses of tin round the netting.
Figure 123: Section through Comb Basket.
About \(\lx@sectionsign\) in. of the sides will project beyond the limits of the netting; this, in the wider pair, should be turned over, and a short bit of wire put in it to afford a hold when drawing out the baskets. In the narrower pair some may be clipped off, and about \(\ddagger\) in. turned down, so as to have a nice round edge at the top.
To use these baskets, the comb is uncapped at both sides and laid on one half of the basket; the other half is then placed over the first, which it fits, like the lid of a pasteboard box, and the entire basket and comb is slipped down the slides of the extractor, another comb being put into the other basket and slides. The whole is then whirled rapidly until the honey from one side of the comb is extracted; the baskets are then withdrawn, and the other sides of the combs turned outwards and extracted in like manner.
It is unfortunate that a hole must be cut out of the end of each half of the comb basket, so as to let the long top bar of the frames pass through. This could be avoided, however, by making slides and baskets an inch or so longer.
The spindle is not made until its exact length is known (not until the case is made) yet it is convenient here to describe its construction. Any one of three kinds of spindle may be used; the most workmanlike would probably be \(\ddagger\)-in. round iron or steel, tinned all over, or covered with tinplate soldered on, or it might be a tinplate tube, though this is not recommended. In any case, it passes through the bridges at their middle points, or nearly so, in such a position as to make the cages revolve truly and evenly. The lower end is brought to a long cone, and works in metal bearings soldered to the centre of the bottom of the can. The top of the spindle takes either a cranked handle or a toothed pinion, with which it is driven. The tops of the cages should be 2 in. lower than the top of the can.
_Honey Extractors._ 131
It will be necessary to put tin washers in the bridges to strengthen the hold of the spindle. They could be \(1\frac{1}{2}\) in. in diameter, beaten saucershaped, with a hole in the middle, through which the spindle passes. After it has been soldered to the bridges these washers could be placed over the point, and attached both to the spindle and bridges. It would be well to have the holes a little small, and to turn out the edges until the spindle can pass through. This will give a firmer hold to the solder than the mere thickness of the timplate could afford.
For the cylinder itself, get a tinplate 55 in. by 26 in. ; the top and bottom should be wired with \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. wire, and the edges turned over to form a joint. The sheet is then to be bent into a cylinder, and the joint made and soldered. A piece is next to be cut for the bottom, and the edge turned up \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. all round. The bottom, however, should be slightly, say \(\frac{1}{2}\) in., larger than the diameter of the cylinder, as it is to be placed in it in a sloping position, so as. to allow all the honey to drain out of the cylinder through a treacle valve, which is placed in the lowest position (see Fig. 115). This valve can be obtained from dealers in hive furniture. The flange of the bottom will be turned down, and firmly soldered to the sides of the barrel. The centre of the bottom being ascertained, a bearing for the lower end of the spindle can be soldered in place either before or after the bottom has been fixed ; the under surface of the bearing is to be filed to an angle to suit the bottom, so that its top surface is horizontal.
A couple of bands of hoop iron, \(\frac{1}{2}\) in. thick and \(1\frac{1}{2}\) in. wide, riveted to the edges under the bead, greatly strengthen the cylinder. To the top one, attach the bolts (Fig. 124), which hold the bar forming the top bearing for the spindle, one of the bolts breaking the joint of the hoop. The bar is fastened with fly nuts or hexagonal nuts. Thisbar is 11 in. by $ in.--long enough to reach across --with holes drilled for bolts, and one for spindle to pass through. A plain short crank handle does for driving, it being the simplest and cheapest.
The two wires shown crossing each other in Fig. 1,7 (p. 123) should receive attention. They are to prevent the network from bulging, and are $ in. thick, fastened with solder to the framework at their ends, and to each other in the middle. The outer wire should be bent at the point of juncture, so as to be flat against the network; otherwise, it would be of very little use.
If it is decided to use gearing wheels as shown in Fig. 115, they can be bought cheaply.
The pinion **its** the spindle, and is keyed to it, and the toothed wheel works on a stud riveted to the cross-bar. The cross-bar would, in this case, require to be somewhat stronger--say, $ in. thick.
The extractor is finished by the addition of a couple of handles riveted to the sides, and covers, of which there are two, one at each side of the cross-bar. It is far easier to have the covers flat, in which case the edges can be turned down, and made to embrace the rim which fits into the barrel. Inspection of an ordinary saucepan cover will show how this can be done.
Figure 124: Bolt for Cross-bar.
## Chapter Xiii
Wax extractors.
Wax extractors, which follow honey extractors in natural sequence, are not so indispensable as those appliances.