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Centrifugal and Centripetal Churn Dasher: Paired Blades That Squeeze the Cream Through
TheChef

Created by

TheChef

6. October 2026DK
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Centrifugal and Centripetal Churn Dasher: Paired Blades That Squeeze the Cream Through

Robbins wrote that in all other churns butter gathers round the dasher and clogs it, so churning stops "before the cream has parted with all the butter it contains." Z. C. Robbins of St. Louis, Missouri, received US 7,006, dated 8 January 1850, for what he called the "Centrifugal and Centripetal Churn-Dasher": broad outer blades on the ends of the arms with their inner faces at right angles to the radii, and inner blades whose outer edges lie on the circle of motion a short distance behind the outer blades' after edges, passing obliquely forward under them. Turned, the cream is forced between each pair; reversed, the inner blades gather the butter "into a roll in the center of the dasher." It followed his telegraph churn of June 1849. This rung works out the squeeze, then prints the dasher in one piece, fits it in a box, and makes butter.
Intermediate
About 3 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

The squeeze

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2

His first dasher

The embedded blueprint is Robbins's 1849 telegraph churn. Six months later he paired its blades so they squeeze the cream between them.
3

Read US 7,006

"When the dasher is rotated in cream, the cream will be gathered between the diverging surfaces of each pair of blades, and by the joint action of pressure and suction, be forced therefrom through the narrow space between their after edges."
4

Print the dasher

Print the dasher on end in one piece with supports (/uploads/blueprints/centrifugal-centripetal-dasher-churn-dasher.stl): four tangential outer blades and four oblique inner blades between two crosses. Print the crank arm (/uploads/blueprints/centrifugal-centripetal-dasher-churn-crank-arm.stl). Print in PLA at 0.2 mm layers, 30 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.

Materials for this step:

PLA FilamentPLA Filament1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
5

Shaft

Push a 10 mm square hardwood shaft through the dasher's hubs and glue it centred.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
SandpaperSandpaper
6

The box

Take a food-safe box about 190 mm each way. Drill both ends on the axis 90 mm up, round the shaft where it runs, pass it through, and glue the crank arm and a dowel handle on. He held it could run uncovered.

Materials for this step:

Food-Grade Storage ContainerFood-Grade Storage Container1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece

Tools needed:

Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
7

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, not of the patent: the box with one side off to show the dasher of paired outer and inner blades between two crosses, and the crank.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
8

Crank, then reverse into a roll

Let the heavy cream stand until it reaches about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Pour in 1.5 litres. Crank steadily, outer blades leading; as soon as the butter begins to separate, reverse the crank, as he said, so the inner blades gather it into a roll in the centre. Pour off the buttermilk, add cold water, churn a little and pour off again until it runs clear; work in a pinch of salt and weigh the butter.
Step 8 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream1500 ml
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)
9

Butter that clogs, or will not roll

Centrifugal-centripetal dasher troubleshooting.

Flow

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10

History and honest limits

**Z. C. Robbins** of St. Louis, Missouri, received US 7,006, dated 8 January 1850. He wrote that dairy-women would favour no churn whose surfaces could not all be reached for cleansing, and that his would make more butter, faster and with less power, than any churn ever patented; that is his claim, not our measurement. He claimed the outer blades tangential to their circle combined with the inclined inner blades. **Honest limits.** A food-safe box and a printed dasher stand in for his. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn. Your times and weights are the result.

Materials

7

Tools Required

9

Design Files

1

CC0 Public Domain

This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.

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