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Spring-Wing Friction Churn: Sprung Wings Rub the Tub and Each Other, Two Plates Rub Below
Woody

Created by

Woody

8. October 2026NO
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Spring-Wing Friction Churn: Sprung Wings Rub the Tub and Each Other, Two Plates Rub Below

James MacNish of Berlin, Wisconsin, received US 20,804, dated 6 July 1858, for a churn that makes butter by friction: an open cylinder of tangential spring wings rubbing the tub's wall, a second set inside turning the other way against its standards, and two friction plates rubbing the tub's bottom and each other. This rung prints both dashers, thin PETG spring wings and the bevel gearing at tabletop scale, in a stock pot.
Advanced
About 6 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

Gearing and rubbing speed

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Counter-turning churns, before it

Those beaters cut through the cream; MacNish's sprung wings and plates rub it against the tub and each other.
3

Read US 20,804

"The wings serve for causing friction and expressing the cream or milk between themselves and the inner circumference of the churn tub, while the bottom plate H, serves for causing friction and expressing the cream or milk between itself and the bottom of the churn tub."
4

Print the parts

Print the skeleton, its top ring, four outer wings, the inner dasher with its tube, four inner wings, pinions D and E, wheel F, the step, the cover, the standard and the crank. Print the wings standing up: their 1.2 mm walls are the springs. Print in PETG at 0.2 mm layers, 30 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.

Materials for this step:

PETG FilamentPETG Filament1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
5

Print the skeleton

The skeleton, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
6

Print the top ring

The top ring, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
7

Print the outer wing

The outer wing, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
8

Print the inner dasher

The inner dasher, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
9

Print the inner wing

The inner wing, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
10

Print the pinion D

The pinion D, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
11

Print the pinion E

The pinion E, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
12

Print the wheel F

The wheel F, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
13

Print the step

The step, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
14

Print the cover

The cover, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
15

Print the standard

The standard, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
16

Print the crank

The crank, printed as step 4 describes.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
17

Dashers

Cut a 10 mm square hardwood strip 325 mm long as the solid shaft and sand it. Slide the skeleton on, plate down, its plate 7 mm above the shaft's foot, and fix it with an M3 screw drilled through the boss and the shaft. Screw an outer wing to each standard with two M3 screws, all curving the same way, and an inner wing to each post of the inner dasher, curving the other way.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood StripHardwood Strip1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
SandpaperSandpaper
Hand DrillHand Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
18

Into the pot, gears on

Set the step in the pot and lower the skeleton in, the shaft's foot in the step and the wings springing against the wall. Lower the inner dasher's tube over the shaft, easing its wings past the standards, and screw the top ring onto the standards with four M3 screws. Lay the cover on with a washer over the tube, slide pinion D onto the tube's flat and fix pinion E on the shaft with an M3 screw drilled through it. Screw the standard to the cover from below with two M4 screws, push a 10 mm dowel through it, press wheel F tight on its inner end to mesh D below and E above, and fix the crank on its outer end with an M3 screw drilled through the dowel.

Materials for this step:

Stock PotStock Pot1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Flat WasherFlat Washer1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Hand DrillHand Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
19

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build: the pot cut open, the step, the solid shaft with the skeleton, its friction plate, standards, top ring and outer spring wings, the inner dasher on its tube with its plate and inner spring wings, the cover, bevel pinions D and E driven opposite ways by wheel F, the standard and the crank.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
20

Churn

Pour in 3 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Turn the crank steadily and time it with the stopwatch. When the butter comes, lift out the cover and dashers, pour off the buttermilk, wash the butter in cold water until it runs clear, work in a pinch of salt and weigh it.

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream3 l
Coarse Sea SaltCoarse Sea Salt1 piece
WaterWater1 piece

Tools needed:

Leave-In Probe ThermometerLeave-In Probe Thermometer
StopwatchStopwatch
Digital Kitchen ScaleDigital Kitchen Scale
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (Large)Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (Large)
21

Troubleshooting

Spring-wing friction churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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22

History and honest limits

**James MacNish** of Berlin, Marquette County, Wisconsin, US 20,804, 6 July 1858, for churns "for making butter by friction". The two shafts and bevel wheels, he wrote, were like churns in common use. He claimed the inner set of tangential spring wings with the outer set, and the friction plates H and J with both sets and the tub. His plate H worked close on the tub's bottom; ours runs 8 mm over it, above a flat step. Our pot, sizes, gear counts and printed spring wings are ours. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn.

Materials

9

Tools Required

9

Design Files

13

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