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Counter-Blade Slide Churn: Two Sets of Blades Turn Opposite Ways, the Outer Set Slides Out to Gather
Martin

Created by

Martin

8. October 2026NO
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Counter-Blade Slide Churn: Two Sets of Blades Turn Opposite Ways, the Outer Set Slides Out to Gather

N. H. Sherburne of Campton, Illinois, received US 20,898, dated 13 July 1858, for an agitator of two sets of blades turning opposite ways, one within the other, each hung from slides in a head so it can be set in or out; the outer set is moved out once the butter begins to gather. It hangs from the cover, so it suits any vessel. This rung prints the heads, slides, blades and bevel gearing at tabletop scale, on a stock pot.
Advanced
About 5 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

Gearing and the gap

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Counter-turning churns, before it

Those beaters were fixed; Sherburne hangs his blades on slides, so each set can be moved in or out.
3

Read US 20,898

"When the aggregation of the oleaginous particles has progressed to a considerable extent, it is found beneficial to move the slides B of the outer blades so as to increase the distance between the two systems of blades for the better collecting of the newly formed butter."
4

Print the parts

Print head H with its hollow shaft (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-head-h.stl), head H' (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-head-h2.stl), two outer slides (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-slide-outer.stl) and two inner slides (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-slide-inner.stl) flat, pinions P (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-pinion-p.stl) and P' (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-pinion-p2.stl), wheel W (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-wheel-w.stl), the cover (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-cover.stl), the standard (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-standard.stl) and the crank (/uploads/blueprints/counter-blade-slide-churn-crank.stl). 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

Heads and blades

Cut a 10 mm square hardwood strip 170 mm long as the solid shaft and sand it. Fix head H' on its lower end with an M3 screw drilled through the boss and the shaft. Push the inner slides into H' from opposite sides, their blades' outer edges 50 mm from the centre, and the outer slides into H, their edges 80 mm out, measured with the ruler; lock each with an M3 set screw. Slide the solid shaft up through H's hollow shaft.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood StripHardwood Strip1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
SandpaperSandpaper
Hand DrillHand Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
RulerRuler
6

Cover and gears

Pass the hollow shaft up through the cover with a washer over it and slide pinion P onto its flat, so the outer blades hang from it. Fix pinion P' on the solid shaft above with an M3 screw drilled through, so the inner blades hang from it. Screw the standard to the cover from below with two M4 screws, push a 10 mm dowel through it, press wheel W tight on its inner end to mesh P below and P' above, and fix the crank on its outer end with an M3 screw drilled through the dowel.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Flat WasherFlat Washer1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Hand DrillHand Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
7

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build: the pot cut open, head H on the hollow shaft with the outer blades, head H' on the solid shaft with the inner blades, the slides in their mortises, the cover, pinions P and P' turned opposite ways by wheel W, the standard and the crank.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
8

Churn, then widen

Pour in 3 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer, and set the cover on. Turn the crank steadily and time it with the stopwatch. When the butter begins to gather, lift the cover out, slide the outer blades out to 95 mm, lock them and turn on. When the butter has come, 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)
9

Troubleshooting

Counter-blade churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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10

History and honest limits

**N. H. Sherburne** of Campton, Kane County, Illinois, US 20,898, 13 July 1858. He disclaimed turning the two parts of an agitator opposite ways, and agitators with movable parts, broadly, and claimed the heads H, H', the slides B, the blades C, C' and the shafts S, S' turning opposite ways, in combination. He gave no way of fixing the slides; our set screws are ours, as are the pot, sizes and printed parts. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn.

Materials

8

Tools Required

10

Design Files

1

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