... Hopefully there is enough forage around my house to support
>four hives.  We'll have to see. . .
>
>Thanks again,
>Kevin Palm
>Grafton, Ohio
 
Hi Kevin.  The top-bar hive would cost only a few dollars, even with new
materials.  You can get very creative, too, using odd boards or wood from
pallets, the materials are not very critical.
In OH I'm fairly certain you'd have forage for up to 12-20 colonies,
presuming you are not in a big city.  That's what I've found here in NY and
also in Mass. where I first started with bees as a kid.  The areas have
been suburban or not-quite rural.
 
Regarding extracting, don't rush out and buy an extractor, pump, tanks,
uncapping equipment, etc. -- it can be much simpler -- this is what I have
done:  Take a 5-gal or larger pail.  Droop some nylon-mesh cloth (about the
mesh of window screen, perhaps a paint-strainer; I have used new mesh
curtain material. It's pretty cheap and will last for years.)  You want the
mesh size to be about the same as that of a big soup strainer.  This cloth
goes over the top of the pail, hanging down in halfway or less.  Secure the
strainer-cloth around the perimeter with closepins or tape.  Or, you can
cut big circle out of the lid, and snap the lid on over the overhanging
strainer-cloth.
 
Now, You can lay some heavy 1/2" mesh hardware cloth over the top. (I
stapled the hardware cloth on a square frame which sets neatly over the
pail).  Next take a honeycomb and lay it over the screen.  Mash the comb
through it with a piece of wood or big spoon. This ruptures all the cells,
and the sticky wax/honey conglomeration drops down onto the nylon mesh.
It will look terrible, but wait.  You will be surprised -- almost all the
honey will drip down within a couple of days.  You can speed it up by
placing the pail in a warm place.  I have set them in the back of a station
wagon, with all the windows rolled up.  It gets nice and warm on a sunny
day, even in cool weather.
 
When finished dripping, say three days, remove the strain-cloth containing
the "dry" wax, which will just be a big golden lump of wax crumbs and odd
comb pieces, all broken up.  You can then tie the strainer cloth (with the
wax in it) up near the bees on a warm day and they will salvage much of the
remaining honey from the outside of the mesh. (Or, go immediatly to the
next step.)
 
Later, rinse the wax in cool water, after which you can melt it down into
cakes for candles or whatever.
 
Honey processed like this is just as good and clear as that from a machine.
Cover the pail up, and let it settle for a few days in a warm place.  Then
you can skim the mass of froth (air bubbles, tiny bits of wax) off the top
(feed it back to your bees!).  Strain the honey through a finer mesh, and
then start bottling.  I warm the pail in a hot water bath (~120 degrees),
then it is nice and warm and will pass through a couple thicknesses of
white panty hose (new of course!).The whole process is very fast, and you
will probably process the entire crop much faster (and with less work) than
if you had to use a real extractor.  Incidentally, this plan was described
in a very old book, ALLEN LATHAM'S BEE BOOK. This is how he processed his
crop.  He had large numbers of colonies in Massachusetts very long ago.
 
SO: don't worry about expenses, as you don't need anything fancy.  Keep it
simple. I have often supered my regular Langstroth hives with frames
containing foundation strips only.  When full and completed, I harvest and
cut the combs from the frames (leaving about 1/4" of comb along the top-bar
to serve as a guide for the replacement comb).
 
If you only have a few combs, you can easily just put them in a pail, roll
up your sleeves, and mash the heck out of them by hand.  Now that's fun!
Dump the gooey mass over a strainer cloth and pail, and let the wax drip
dry.  Bingo - extracted honey.
 
If you are reluctant to invest in an extractor and amenities ($$$!), you
can give your bees empty frames with starters (strips of foundation) in the
honey super-frames, and process your frame-hive honey this same way.  Also,
if you come across some really nice combs, you can cut them up into
chunk/comb honey.  It will be worth more than liquid honey.  The rest of
the combs, which are not really smooth and attractive (or straight) you
just mash and drain.
 
This method may sound like it wouldn't work well, but I have been pleased
and very surprised to find that you can get almost ALL the honey out this
way.  With the combs good and shredded, the honey makes its way down thru
the wax by sheer gravity.
 
Bear in mind tho', that if the honey is very thick (as some varieties are)
it might not work so well.  Whatever you do, if you set it in a vehicle
make sure the windows are all up, or you'll end up with a car full of bees!
Good luck!   JWG