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Bellows-and-Float Atmospheric Churn: Blasts of Air Through a Water-Jointed Pipe, a Float Gathers the Butter
P. S. Devlan (USPTO drawing) · Public domain
Buttercup

Created by

Buttercup

9. November 2026IE
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Bellows-and-Float Atmospheric Churn: Blasts of Air Through a Water-Jointed Pipe, a Float Gathers the Butter

Patrick S. Devlan of Reading, Pennsylvania, received US 24,382, dated 14 June 1859, for a churn worked by blasts of air only. A bellows under the body, worked by a lever, blows up a pipe that opens inside a wider tube; the air goes down between them and out through a perforated disk across the bottom, so it is spread through the whole cream. The cream standing in the tube makes a water joint, so no valves are needed. A perforated float with projections rides up and down on the bubbling cream and gathers the butter as it forms. This rung builds it with a 20-litre bucket on legs and a bellows below.
Intermediate
About 1 day, plus printing

Instructions

1

The water joint

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Air drawn into the cream, before it

Wicks drew air in with turning funnels and a dasher. Devlan blows it in with a bellows and has no dasher at all.
3

Read US 24,382

"... this pipe or tube, C, is open at its upper end, but is entirely surrounded to within a short distance of its base by another tube D, of greater diameter which tube D, is connected at its base to the center of the convex perforated disk d."
4

Print the teat e

The hollow teat for the lid's middle, over tube D's top. PETG, 0.2 mm layers, 40 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
Download Model
5

Print the collar

The collar that seals tube D into the disk's middle. PETG, 0.2 mm layers, 40 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
Download Model
6

Stand and bellows

Cut three legs a from 44 mm square timber 650 mm long and set them 120 degrees apart round a 350 mm circle. Screw a plywood seat ring 400 mm across, with a 60 mm hole, between them 482 mm up to carry the bucket, a band 600 mm up round the bucket, and a plywood shelf 150 mm up for the bellows. Screw a bellows about 260 x 120 mm to the shelf.

Materials for this step:

Softwood Timber 70x70mmSoftwood Timber 70x70mm2 pieces
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet2 pieces
Wood ScrewsWood Screws24 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
BellowsBellows1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
JigsawJigsaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Tape MeasureTape Measure
7

Pipe C, tube D and disk d

Drill the middle of the bucket's floor 16.5 mm and seal a 16 mm stainless pipe C through it with silicone so it stands 400 mm up. Drill 24 holes of 4 mm in two rings in a stainless bowl about 260 mm across and a 32.5 mm hole in its middle, and stand it upside down on the floor round the pipe as disk d. Push a 32 mm stainless tube D 360 mm long through the printed collar into the bowl's middle hole, sealed with silicone, so it surrounds pipe C down to 56 mm above the floor. Run silicone tubing from the bellows' nozzle to pipe C's foot under the floor.

Materials for this step:

20-Liter Bucket20-Liter Bucket1 piece
Stainless Steel TubeStainless Steel Tube2 pieces
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (Large)Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (Large)1 piece
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece
PETG FilamentPETG Filament1 piece
Silicone TubingSilicone Tubing1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Hole Saw KitHole Saw Kit
Tube CutterTube Cutter
Files (Hand File)Files (Hand File)
8

Lid, float and lever

Cut a 45 mm hole in the middle of the bucket's lid and glue the teat e over it, with its cap f. Cut float G from 15 mm plywood, 250 mm across with a 48 mm hole for tube D and eight 22 mm holes, and glue 10 mm dowel pegs 25 mm long into both faces as the projections g. Bolt a hardwood lever b to the outside of one leg 360 mm up, running up beside the bucket to a handle c above the lid, and join it to the bellows' top board with a hardwood link.

Materials for this step:

PETG FilamentPETG Filament1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Hardwood BoardHardwood Board2 pieces
Hex Bolt AssortmentHex Bolt Assortment3 pieces
Flat WasherFlat Washer6 pieces
Nylon Insert Lock NutNylon Insert Lock Nut3 pieces

Tools needed:

Hole Saw KitHole Saw Kit
JigsawJigsaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Hand SawHand Saw
SandpaperSandpaper
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
9

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, the near half of the body cut away: the stand with its seat, band and shelf, the bellows and hose, pipe C inside tube D, the drilled bowl as disk d, the float with its pegs, the lid with its teat and cover, and the lever with its link.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
10

Churn

Fill the bucket about one third full: about 6.5 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Drop the float in over tube D and put the lid on. Work the lever steadily and time it: each stroke blows a burst of air up the pipe, down the tube and out through the bowl's holes. When the butter has gathered on the float, lift it out, 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 Cream6.5 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)
11

Troubleshooting

Atmospheric churn troubleshooting.

Flow

Loading...
12

History and honest limits

**Patrick S. Devlan** of Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania (the drawing spells it Devlen), US 24,382, 14 June 1859. Earlier blast churns, he wrote, blew the air in one place, needed valves and did not collect the butter; he claimed the float in a churn worked by blast only. His only quantity is "say one third full". His pipe C rises straight from the bellows and his disk d spans the floor; our hose, drilled bowl, pegs and every size are ours.

Materials

19

Tools Required

15

Design Files

3

This blueprint makes

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Butter

Free

198
0
1
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Buttermilk

Free

72
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