Buying a honey extractor is an important step forward for any beekeeper. An imported extractor can easily cost more than the total of all other expenses a small-scale beekeeper has to face in starting up.

Using easily available, inexpensive or free-for-the-hauling components, the tinkering genius displayed by most beekeepers could produce a hand- or power-cranked four ­frame tangential extractor, capable of spinning at a speed of at least 200 rpm. The main component of the hand-cranked model is the foot gear of a junked outboard engine, together with its prop-shaft which must be at least 66 cm long.

The crank could be fashioned in a variety of styles, from an iron rod welded to the propeller stem, to more sophisticated versions. A basket to contain the frame can be easily made with two identical wooden frames and 60 mm wire mesh. The basket shaft spins in a floor flange mounted exactly in the centre of the bottom of a metal rubbish bin or plastic drum. A pipe is necessary to allow the extracted honey to flow out.

A simpler, more efficient extractor can also be built, spinning the basket with an electric hand drill attached to the shaft.

[Bees for Development Journal #44]