# homemade extractor in progress



## lharder (Mar 21, 2015)

You could probably also use a food grade fermenting plastic tub. Can get them at any do it yourself wine shops. Look forward to see it in action


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

that should work good for ya. a little slow but sure a whole lot better than crush and strain. I assume you will drive it with a cordless drill.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

beeware10 said:


> that should work good for ya. a little slow but sure a whole lot better than crush and strain. I assume you will drive it with a cordless drill.


I'm prusing craig's list for a tredmill that I can rob a motor out of and run it through a dimmer switch. But for starting out yes a drill. If I can get a couple of yrs out of it to get enough money saved up to buy a good one, then it will have served it's purpose. At that point I'll donate it to someone new at the club.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

your wise to start beekeeping with let the bees pay for it. that's the way to make money. honey is special and a extractor makes a quality product.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

Why wood instead of coated strut stock.for.the cross braces?

I've been considering how to build an extractor along thes lines.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Because its cheap and I have it on hand lol


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

>> a treadmill that I can rob a motor out of and run it through a dimmer switch. 

If you find a treadmill with a knob (potentiometer) for a speed control, odds are that the motor in that treadmill is a DC motor, and you can salvage the DC motor and its associated AC to DC variable speed electronics for use with your extractor. 

On the other hand, some treadmills have an AC induction motor and a mechanical (crank type) speed control. Those induction motors are not well suited to conversion to variable speed by a dimmer.


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## tommyt (Aug 7, 2010)

Cordless drill/ screw guns have built in brake 

BEWARE 

That honey when spinning has some momentum 
When you let got of the trigger that gun stops 
The will tear up your Wrist and arm 

I suggest a corded drill


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Thanks for the tip I suppose a variable speed drill would work eh ?


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

Do you need the wing nut on the top? Is it heavy enough to hold the frames down by itself?

If the wing nut is needed, how about a nut and washer at the top with a spring between the top frame holder and the washer? That way all you would have to do is pick the top frame holder up to load it...

Like the design. It has inspired me.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

I think I'm going to re do the top entirely and use 1/4 rod bent into u shaped loops so I can just drop them in oh and yes with this design you need the wing nut so it's tight other wise when you first start if you are not careful the bottom turns and the top doesn't causing a twist and they can fall out at that point


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

And here I was making mine out of 304 stainless. Silly me.

Crazy Roland


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## MTBeeGirl (Apr 24, 2015)

Cool.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

ok so I could forsee how much a PIA this thing was going to be to load and unload while down in a container, so I modified it so they just drop in more like a commercial type of machine 


NOW I'm read to clean and coat the metal


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## Terry C (Sep 6, 2013)

I like it ! It looks like with some minor design changes this could be made to hold more than 4 frames , but that would depend on the diameter of your container and what size frames you're extracting . I'm thinking either a hex or octagonal center mount point , still using the channel like you used . I like the wire loops at the top , what did you use ? Looks kinda like the heavy wire that is sometimes used for clothesline . 
What type of coating do you plan to use ?


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

the wire is heave guage wire used for fencing. For coating, I'm either going to DIY with Camcote (from brushy mountain I think), or most likely talk to our tank dept at work, and see if one of the guys can sand blast it and coat it with the same coating Hershey uses in their chocolate tanks.


if you cut the brackets to a point they would fit in between all the other and could be welded in, then a second wire rack could be made and rotated and stacked. It wouldn't make a bit of difference if one was 1/4 in higher than the other the would have to be a bit longer though but should still have room in a 32 gal trash can.


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

Very nice. I finished modifying a two framer tonight and I will start on a four frame basket tomorrow. I am going to use your design, if you don't mind. :thumbsup:

I might even yank out a few full frames to try it out. Seems like a well thought out design. Thanks for letting me know about the post!


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

No problem that is why I posted it to share


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

https://youtu.be/Ln5INwGOidE


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

Very nice. Start slow or you will be slinging comb. Don't ask me how I found out.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

lol Im sure there is a learning curve, I picked up a variable speed router controler today, so I can fin tune if need be.


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## jbeshearse (Oct 7, 2009)

Links to the one I made.

http://doorgarden.com/extractor/
http://doorgarden.com/extractor/extract.pdf

Link to the thread:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...yver-Extractor&highlight=jbeshearse+extractor


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Awesome Jb


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## dp2k (Apr 22, 2012)

very nice - my first extractor was a homemade setup - mostly aluminum with a SS allthread center shaft. worked well for extracting - i powered it with a cordless drill with a clutch set on low - that helped prevent the problems mentioned with the kickback/broken wrist folks have talked about, but it did get away from me a couple times and was spinning away on top of the shaft! I saw this the other day - looks like a clutch type bit (for starting Craftsman 2 cycle engines) Not sure exactly how it works, but I'm guessing it was what I was looking for. 
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-power-bit-start-trade/p-07185952000P

I ended up finding a used SAF extractor at an auction - paid more than I wanted for it, but it IS nice to not have to work as hard on the extraction as when I was using the drill....


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

Harley Craig said:


> Because its cheap and I have it on hand lol


Can't think of a better reason than that!


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## matrout76 (Feb 2, 2013)

Harley Craig said:


> lol Im sure there is a learning curve, I picked up a variable speed router controler today, so I can fin tune if need be.


Harley, 

Did this work for you? What are you using the router controller to control...a drill?

If it didn't let me know and i'll tell you how i got mine to work.

Matt


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## jbeshearse (Oct 7, 2009)

With the one I built, I used a variable speed drill. With these lite weight extractors, the unbalance is more severe, they need to be strapped down pretty well or you use a lot of energy trying to control the wobble. 

The only problem I had with mine was the lack of a good "top bearing". The hole in the lid would shave away allowing bits of plastic into the extractor which had to be strained out


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## matrout76 (Feb 2, 2013)

this is the type of bearing i am using both top and bottom: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-BEARINGS-...4X4-/281193817236?hash=item4178752494&vxp=mtr

I used a funnel on the bottom as a shield to keep the honey off the bearing, and it is about 6" up off the bottom so that it will never be submerged in honey and cause contamination. I picked up the first ones from Tractor Supply and will buy the next from Amazon.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

matrout76 said:


> Harley,
> 
> Did this work for you? What are you using the router controller to control...a drill?
> 
> ...


 we are in the middle of our flow, I will probably extract around first week of july, You can feel free to share any tips now if you like  they would be much appreciated.


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## matrout76 (Feb 2, 2013)

if you have a variable speed drill and the router controller won't control it, you have to change how the switch is wired...which requires disassembly of the drill. 

This is the drill i have: http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-heavy-duty-low-speed-variable-speed-reversible-drill-60436.html

When you take apart the drill and get to the switch, there is a wire connected to the #2 terminal on the switch that is marked as variable out. this wire needs to be taken from there and put into the #3 which is marked as non-variable out. Then when you lock the drill trigger on, the drill is only single speed and is controlled by the router controller. 

I didn't figure this out, a friend of a friend did...so please don't give me any credit!


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

interesting thanks


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Update: tried extracting a few frames today because I needed open comb for some nucs that weren't strong enough to pull comb yet . It worked great the router speed control worked slick with no rewiring of the drill just plug it in and lock the trigger on then turn the knob


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## lharder (Mar 21, 2015)

Excellent! Pictures please when you get a chance.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Here is the router controller in use, I almost forgot and had the kid go grab my phone when I was spinning the last 2 frames today. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM1oMJu4a70


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## lharder (Mar 21, 2015)

That seems to work nicely.


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