![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.alisatilsner.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/IMG_4682.jpg\" "\\"IMG_4682\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThere are a few ways to get the Bees off the frames, but today we decided to just brush them off with a very soft brush, Karl is helping by controlling the bees with smoke.<\/p>\n
After we had all 9 frames from the hive, we headed to our garage where The Honey House had been set up. \u00c2\u00a0Craig, the ever handy man has made most of the tools. \u00c2\u00a0This is the Uncapping Station.<\/p>\n The honey extractor was borrowed, Craig has this next on his list of things to make.<\/p>\n This is the water tank used to create steam to heat up the knife, hand made by Craig.<\/p>\n This is the Steam Knife used to cut the cappings off the frames, also made by Craig. \u00c2\u00a0The red hose you can see in the above photo attaches to the tubes on the knife. \u00c2\u00a0The steam runs through the tubes and heats the blades.<\/p>\n Here’s the entire set up.<\/p>\n Inside the sink Craig has made a filter that will allow the honey from the cappings to flow through into a bucket below the sink. \u00c2\u00a0Can’t waste any!<\/p>\n And now the fun begins. \u00c2\u00a0Here Craig is cutting and melting the wax cappings off the frames. \u00c2\u00a0The honey is ready for harvest only when the bees have capped the cells. \u00c2\u00a0If the cells are still open, the water content in the honey is still too high.<\/p>\n It was very hard not to stick your fingers into this for a taste!<\/p>\n So the wax cappings drop into the sink, this is all the cappings from 9 frames. \u00c2\u00a0I’m going to have to take up candle making too I think.<\/p>\n Honey from the cappings runs down the sink and into a bucket (food grade). \u00c2\u00a0Here it is going through a sieve first (made by Craig), we were all a little excited now!<\/p>\n Sorry for the blurry photo here, but check out that golden colour!<\/p>\n After the frames have been uncapped, they are placed into the honey extractor.<\/p>\n Then the boys all took turns spinning the honey out, I won’t show you all the photo’s of that tho.<\/p>\n The spun frames are now called Stickies and go back into the hive for the bees to fix up the comb and start producing honey again.<\/p>\n Can you see the honey in the bottom of the extractor?<\/p>\n Oopsie, she didn’t want to leave her frame.<\/p>\n After all the frames are spun, we (mostly Craig) lifted the extractor onto something higher so we could really get to the good part!<\/p>\n Are you ready for it?<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n