Honey Extractor.

With Herself safely out of the house for the day, I was able to spread out all the honey extraction gear and get on with the job. There were a few breaks; well, quite a lot actually, to rest my back; friends have suggested that I buy a shooting stick to cope with my current and, I hope, temporary infirmity. The Blip shows the extractor loaded and ready to go; this is a model I bought a couple of years ago from a friend who has given up his bees having developed Alzheimer’s; it was his wife who I dealt with, of course, and this was the first time I have used it. This design necessitates having the honey comb reinforced with embedded wire; occasionally, it is still not sufficiently robust and the heavy comb will disintegrate with a sound like a shot gun. Since the hand cranking is a bit tedious, I did some calculations while considering how I could motorise the process. This thing spins at around 500 rpm so it’s not surprising that the combs can go with a bang.
 
I used to know a bee farmer in Kent who made his money selling a pollination service. He didn’t like the honey side of bee keeping; he marvelled at the way it made the carpets in every room in the house sticky, even if the doors were kept shut. I must admit to the sentiment that the best way to harvest the honey is naked; it washes off skin easily with warm water, where-as it makes a hell of a mess of clothing. Social niceties demand, however, that I only strip to the waist; even then it is embarrassing to have to answer the door bell.