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Crosshead Dasher Churn: Dashers Hinged to a Rising Crosshead Slide Their Outer Ends Up Inclined Grooves, Counter-Dashers Above
Harry Abbott · Public domain
Buttercup

Created by

Buttercup

11. November 2026IE
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Crosshead Dasher Churn: Dashers Hinged to a Rising Crosshead Slide Their Outer Ends Up Inclined Grooves, Counter-Dashers Above

Harry Abbott of North Huron, New York, received US 28,723, dated 19 June 1860, for a churn. In a long box a cross-head in the middle is raised and lowered by a lever; a frame dasher of rods is hinged to each side of it, its outer end sliding in a groove in the box's sides that slopes up inward, so the dashers' inner ends rise and fall while their outer ends move in and out. Above each, a dasher hinged to the box's end works against it and keeps the cream from splashing up. The patent gives no sizes; every size here is ours.
Advanced
About 3 days

Instructions

1

Inner ends up and down, outer ends in and out

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

A hinged dasher in a long box, four months before

Cunningham swings one dasher from one end. Abbott lifts two from the middle and guides their outer ends in grooves.
3

Read US 28,723

"Arranged thus, the lower dashers E, E, have a compound motion; the inner ends being raised and lowered nearly vertically, while the outer ends are guided in and out nearly horizontally. The milk, or cream, passing through the rods g, g, of the dashers E, E, is violently and effectively agitated; while the rods o, o, of the auxiliary dashers, which have opposite and antagonistic motions, being arranged at right angles to the rods g, g, effectively break the currents, and allay the agitation on the surface."
4

Body A, legs a and grooves b and i

From 20 mm hardwood board make a box 600 x 260 mm inside and 300 deep, glued and screwed, its inside joints sealed with silicone sealant, on four pine legs 480 mm long. Before assembling, rout in each side a vertical groove b 50 mm wide and 10 deep in the middle, and near each end an inclined groove i 14 mm wide and 10 deep, rising inward at 25 degrees from 45 mm above the floor and running into the groove b's path at its top, so the dashers lift out. Cut a lid with a 24 mm square hole in the middle.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board4 pieces
Pine LumberPine Lumber2 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws40 pieces
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece

Tools needed:

Table SawTable Saw
RouterRouter
ProtractorProtractor
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Bar ClampBar Clamp
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
Tape MeasureTape Measure
5

Cross-head B and dashers E

Cut a hardwood cross-head 50 x 40 mm, 276 long, its ends fitting the grooves b. For each dasher make a frame of two hardwood side bars 16 x 50 mm, 240 long between pins, and ends f, with five 12 mm stainless rods g across it; fix a 10 mm stainless pin across its outer end, standing out 8 mm each side as the bearings h, and hinge its inner end to the cross-head with a 8 mm stainless pin and split pins, at d.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Stainless Steel RodStainless Steel Rod4 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Split PinSplit Pin4 pieces

Tools needed:

Table SawTable Saw
Chisel Set - WoodChisel Set - Wood
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
HacksawHacksaw
Files (Hand File)Files (Hand File)
6

Auxiliary dashers G

Make each auxiliary dasher as a frame 230 mm long with four hardwood rods o, 8 mm thick, along its length, at right angles to the rods g below. Hinge its outer end to the box's end 200 mm up with a staple over a hook, held by a button. Let its middle rod run on past its inner end and through a screw eye on the dasher E's inner end, so G's inner end follows E's.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Screw EyeScrew Eye2 pieces
Hook and EyeHook and Eye2 pieces
Wood ScrewsWood Screws8 pieces

Tools needed:

Table SawTable Saw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
7

Rod C, lever D and fulcrum c

Cut a hardwood rod C 24 mm square, 420 long, and fix its foot in the cross-head's middle. Bolt a hardwood link c 90 mm between holes to a block on the outside of one end of the box, near the top. Cut a hardwood lever D, 720 mm long with a handle shaped at one end, and bolt it to the top of rod C and, 360 mm from that pin, to the link's top.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board2 pieces
Carriage BoltCarriage Bolt3 pieces
Nylon Insert Lock NutNylon Insert Lock Nut3 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws4 pieces

Tools needed:

Table SawTable Saw
JigsawJigsaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
8

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, one side left off: the cross-head in its middle grooves, the two rod dashers hinged to it with their outer bearings in the inclined grooves, the auxiliary dashers above hinged at the ends, the rod C, the lever D and its swinging fulcrum link.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
9

Churn

Pour about 15 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer, into the box and put on the lid. Work the lever up and down steadily, about 120 mm at the cross-head, timing it. When the butter comes, take off the lid, unhook the auxiliary dashers, lift the cross-head and dashers out by the grooves, take out the butter, pour the buttermilk into a bowl, wash the butter in cold water until it runs clear, salt and weigh it.

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream15 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)
10

Troubleshooting

Crosshead dasher churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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11

History and honest limits

**Harry Abbott** of North Huron, Wayne County, New York, US 28,723, 19 June 1860 (signed 7 April 1860), "Churn". He claimed the dashers E guided by the vertical and inclined grooves, with the counter-acting dashers G. He gives no sizes and allows any equivalent way of working the cross-head; every size, the groove angle and the stroke here are ours.

Materials

15

Tools Required

17

Design Files

1

This blueprint makes

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Butter

Free

198
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1
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Buttermilk

Free

72
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