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Star-Dasher Crank Churn: Geared Crank and Flywheel Drive Two Notched Dashers Set Point Over Gap
L. Lake (USPTO drawing) · Public domain
Martin

Created by

Martin

9. November 2026NO
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Star-Dasher Crank Churn: Geared Crank and Flywheel Drive Two Notched Dashers Set Point Over Gap

Lorenzo Lake of Middlebury, Pennsylvania, received US 24,845, dated 19 July 1859, for an upright dash churn worked by gearing so that a child could churn even a very large churn. A handle turns a large wheel driving a wheel half its size on a crank shaft with a balance wheel; the crank's pitman works the staff up and down through a guide. The staff carries two dashers of boards with V-shaped slots in their ends, set so the points of one lie over the gaps of the other, cutting the cream as it escapes going down and up and dashing it against the sides. This rung builds it with printed gears over a 20-litre bucket.
Intermediate
About 2 days, plus printing

Instructions

1

Strokes per turn of the handle

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

A crank and pitman working the staff, before it

Dorsey's pitman also turned the staff. Lake's only lifts it, through gearing and a balance wheel for speed.
3

Read US 24,845

"... these dashers are so placed upon the staff that the sharpened ends of the boards thus cut, will cover the spaces left between the boards in the dasher immediately above or below—so that when operated in the churn the cream will be more thoroughly cut and the globules will be more easily and speedily broken."
4

Print the wheel E

The 40-tooth wheel for the handle's shaft. PETG, 0.2 mm layers, 50 % infill, 5 walls.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
Download Model
5

Print the wheel F

The 20-tooth wheel for the crank shaft. PETG, 0.2 mm layers, 50 % infill, 5 walls.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
Download Model
6

Platform, upright and frame

Screw a pine platform C 500 x 550 mm. Stand a 70 mm upright C' 990 mm tall at its back, braced. Screw a hardwood beam 130 x 255 x 40 mm out from the upright's top toward the front, and hang three hardwood blocks from it, each bored 20.5 mm 900 mm above the floor: two either side of the crank, 90 mm apart, for shaft G, and one 90 mm to the side for wheel E's shaft. Screw a hardwood guide arm I from the upright to over the bucket 430 mm up, with a 26 mm square hole.

Materials for this step:

Pine BoardPine Board2 pieces
Softwood Timber 70x70mmSoftwood Timber 70x70mm2 pieces
Hardwood BoardHardwood Board2 pieces
#10 x 3" Wood Screw#10 x 3" Wood Screw20 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Spade Bit SetSpade Bit Set
ChiselsChisels
Spirit LevelSpirit Level
Tape MeasureTape Measure
7

Crank shaft G, wheels and handle

Make the crank from two hardwood webs 30 x 10 mm, a 12 mm stainless pin 50 mm off the axis between them, and two 20 mm steel stubs, one each side, run through the hanging blocks. Fix wheel F on the rear stub and a plywood balance wheel B 300 mm across, with spokes, on the front stub. Run a 20 mm steel shaft through the third block with wheel E meshing with F, and a hardwood handle M 57 mm long with a dowel grip on its end.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Stainless Steel RodStainless Steel Rod1 piece
Steel Bar StockSteel Bar Stock2 pieces
PETG FilamentPETG Filament1 piece
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Hex Bolt AssortmentHex Bolt Assortment4 pieces
Nylon Insert Lock NutNylon Insert Lock Nut4 pieces

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
JigsawJigsaw
HacksawHacksaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Files (Hand File)Files (Hand File)
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
8

Staff, dashers and pitman

Cut two plywood dashers L, each a 16-point star 250 mm across with its notches 20 mm deep, and a 25 mm square hole in the middle. Glue them on a 25 mm square hardwood staff D 150 mm apart, the upper turned half a point from the lower. Cut a hardwood pitman H 300 mm between centres with a fork at its foot; fit a hardwood thimble J on the staff's top and push an 8 mm stainless rod a through the fork, thimble and staff. Put the staff through the guide and the bucket's lid and set the lower dasher 25 mm off the floor at the bottom of the stroke.

Materials for this step:

Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Hardwood BoardHardwood Board2 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Stainless Steel RodStainless Steel Rod1 piece
Flat WasherFlat Washer2 pieces
20-Liter Bucket20-Liter Bucket1 piece

Tools needed:

JigsawJigsaw
Hand SawHand Saw
ChiselsChisels
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
SandpaperSandpaper
9

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, half the bucket cut away: the platform and upright, the beam with its hanging blocks, the split crank shaft with balance wheel and wheel F, wheel E and handle M, the forked pitman and thimble, the staff through its guide, and the two star dashers. It was checked at eight crank angles.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
10

Churn

Pour about 10 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C into the bucket, checked with the thermometer, and put the lid on round the staff. Turn the handle steadily and time it. When the butter comes, pull pin a, lift the staff 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 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)
11

Troubleshooting

Star-dasher churn troubleshooting.

Flow

Loading...
12

History and honest limits

**Lorenzo Lake** of Middlebury, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, assignor to himself and William Patton of Towanda, US 24,845, 19 July 1859, "Churn". He claimed the dasher L worked by the devices described, not the gearing as such. His only proportion is wheel F about half wheel E. His dashers are boards with V-slotted ends; ours are plywood stars cut to the same pattern. Every size is ours.

Materials

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Tools Required

17

Design Files

3

This blueprint makes

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Butter

Free

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Buttermilk

Free

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