Does anyone know where I can find plans for making a honey extractor? I have heard of modifying an old washer but I have never seen an actual plan. A pint of primo Florida Tupelo to the first/best link sender!
Go to www.beesource.com (http://www.beesource.com). They have lots of free plans for DIY'ers. I built my bee-vac with plans I got from there. They also have plans for an extractor that looks fairly easy, although I ended up buying mine rather than building one (no time!). I plan on building a solar wax melter that I got off there.
I think this must be the one you are looking for....I did a ton of research on this last year. I wish I still had it, but lost it all when my hard drive crashed. It may not be easy trying to find this type of antique washing machine, but it could probably be adapted to a more modern model. You will need to cut and paste these to your browser because I don't know how to insert a hyperlink.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Honey-Extractor-using-an-antique-was/ (http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Honey-Extractor-using-an-antique-was/)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Honey-Extractor-using-an-antique-was/step15/The-Completed-Honey-Extractor/ (http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Honey-Extractor-using-an-antique-was/step15/The-Completed-Honey-Extractor/)
This one looks a little more realistic to build, or some variation on this design:
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/september/honeyextractor.htm (http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/september/honeyextractor.htm)
Mother Earth plans using and outboard motor drive.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,3673.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,3673.0.html)