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Rolling-Rocker Churn: A Box on Pegged Rockers Rolls Along Notched Ways So Its Fulcrum Follows the Cream
Daniel Deshon 2d · Public domain
Buttercup

Created by

Buttercup

11. November 2026IE
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Rolling-Rocker Churn: A Box on Pegged Rockers Rolls Along Notched Ways So Its Fulcrum Follows the Cream

Daniel Deshon 2d of Somerset, Pennsylvania, received US 27,701, dated 3 April 1860, for a churn. A box of cream stands on curved rockers whose pegs sit in notches along the ways of a stand. Rocked by a handle, the box tips end to end and the cream runs through racks of rods; as the rockers roll, the point they rest on moves along with the weight, so little force is needed. The patent gives no sizes; every size here is ours, and so is our reading of where the racks sit.
Intermediate
About 2 days

Instructions

1

A fulcrum that walks

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2

Cream rushing end to end through pins, one month before

Newbrough's barrel tips on a fixed pivot. Deshon's box rolls, so its pivot follows the cream.
3

Read US 27,701

"... this is done without contending but very little with the weight from the fact that the fulcrum at the bottom of the rockers (b) changes from one end to the other in accordance to the change of the weight inside of the vessel, always keeping in the center of the weight; consequently balancing the weight in its motion and saving most of the labor required to churn."
4

Vessel a and lid d

From 20 mm hardwood board make a box 600 x 250 mm inside and 290 deep; glue and screw it and seal the inside joints with silicone sealant. Cut a 150 mm opening across the middle of the top and a lid to fit it, with a hardwood block handle e.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board3 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws40 pieces
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece

Tools needed:

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

Racks i

Make two racks, each two hardwood side bars 24 x 20 mm, 355 long, with nine 10 mm stainless rods across between them. Stand them in the vessel leaning together, their feet on the floor 30 mm from the ends, meeting in the middle 240 mm above the floor.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Stainless Steel RodStainless Steel Rod2 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece

Tools needed:

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

Rockers b with projections f, and handle c

Draw an arc of 400 mm radius with the compass on two 20 mm hardwood boards and cut each rocker with that arc as its bottom, 48 degrees of arc (325 mm), rising to the box's top; leave one 140 mm taller and cut a hand-hole in it as the handle c. Bore seven 12 mm holes along each arc, 6 degrees apart, and glue in dowel pegs standing 8 mm out as the projections f. Bolt a rocker on each long side of the vessel, centred, the arc's lowest point 40 mm below the vessel's bottom.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board2 pieces
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Carriage BoltCarriage Bolt4 pieces
Wing NutWing Nut4 pieces

Tools needed:

CompassCompass
JigsawJigsaw
ProtractorProtractor
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Spade Bit SetSpade Bit Set
SandpaperSandpaper
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
7

Pedestal h with ways and notches g

Cut two hardwood ways 520 x 120 x 30 mm and set them on edge under the rockers, 290 mm apart inside; join them with two cross boards near the floor. Cut seven notches 14 mm wide and 11 deep in each way's top edge, 41.9 mm apart from the middle, to match the pegs.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board2 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws16 pieces

Tools needed:

Table SawTable Saw
Chisel Set - WoodChisel Set - Wood
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Bar ClampBar Clamp
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
Tape MeasureTape Measure
8

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, tipped 10 degrees and cut through the middle: the vessel with its lid and the two racks leaning together, the rockers with their pegs in the ways' notches, and the pedestal.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
9

Churn

Pour about 10 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer, into the vessel and close the lid. Push and pull the handle c steadily, tipping the vessel up to about 18 degrees each way, timing it. When the butter comes, lift the lid, take out the racks and the butter, tip 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 Cream10 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

Rolling-rocker churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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11

History and honest limits

**Daniel Deshon 2d** of Somerset, Pennsylvania, US 27,701, 3 April 1860, "Churn". He claimed the racks, vessel, pedestal and rockers with projections in notched ways, combined. He places the racks only by dotted lines in his figure; our two racks leaning together are our reading of them. Every size here is ours.

Materials

11

Tools Required

19

Design Files

1

This blueprint makes

Thumbnail
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Butter

Free

198
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1
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Buttermilk

Free

72
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