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Oscillating-Pump Churn: A Half-Round Vane Pump Lifts the Cream Over and Strains It Back Through a Partition
W. H. McClintock (USPTO drawing) · Public domain
Martin

Created by

Martin

9. November 2026NO
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Oscillating-Pump Churn: A Half-Round Vane Pump Lifts the Cream Over and Strains It Back Through a Partition

W. H. McClintock of Frankfort, Ohio, received US 24,223, dated 31 May 1859, for a churn that is a pump. A box is divided by a perforated partition into a cream chamber and a butter chamber. In the cream chamber a half-round pump has a vane swung back and forth by a lever: each stroke sucks cream up through a passage round the pump and flap valves into one side, and forces the other side's cream up through valves on top into a channel that runs into the butter chamber. The cream strains back through the partition and goes round again, chafed at every pass, until the butter is left in the butter chamber. Pumping water round the same way rinses the churn and washes the butter. This rung builds it in a pine box with a printed pump.
Advanced
About 1 day, plus printing

Instructions

1

What one stroke moves

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Cream thrown over a partition, before it

Patterson's fan threw cream over a partition to return under it. McClintock pumps it over and strains it back.
3

Read US 24,223

"The cream first expelled flows into the chamber C, and by reason of the continued suction of the piston is caused to strain through the perforated partition D, and enter the cream or milk chamber again ready to be again similarly circulated, minus a greater portion of its fatty matter, said fatty matter remaining in the chamber C."
4

Print the pump E

The pump body: half-round chamber a, passage b round it with its inlet below, ports for valves c c'. Print it upside down on its flat top. PETG, 0.2 mm layers, 40 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
Download Model
5

Print the vane f

The piston vane with its half-round hub. PETG, 0.2 mm layers, 40 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.
Design FileSTLCC0 - Free
Download Model
6

Box A and partition D

From 18 mm pine make a box 500 x 220 mm and 300 mm deep inside, with a lid and knob. Screw pairs of 10 mm strips down both side walls 300 mm from the left end as grooves, and slide in a 12 mm plywood partition D 212 mm high, drilled all over with 8 mm holes 20 mm apart, with a knob to lift it. Fit a PVC spigot low in the right end, in chamber C, as the opening j.

Materials for this step:

Pine BoardPine Board3 pieces
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws40 pieces
Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
PVC SpigotPVC Spigot1 piece
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
JigsawJigsaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Hole Saw KitHole Saw Kit
ClampsClamps
SandpaperSandpaper
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
Tape MeasureTape Measure
7

Pump E and top plate

Cut a 12 mm plywood top plate 290 x 220 mm to fill chamber B from the left end to the partition. Cut a half-round groove across its underside for the vane's hub, 37 mm wide, centred 150 mm from the left end, and drill two 20 mm eduction holes d d' 50 mm each side of it. Glue rubber-sheet flaps e e' 32 mm square over them on top, hinged on one edge with a screw. Glue rubber flaps c c' over the two ports inside the pump's chamber, hinged at the top so they open inward. Screw the pump body under the plate, seal the joint with silicone, and rest the plate on cleats 200 mm above the floor so it closes chamber B.

Materials for this step:

PETG FilamentPETG Filament1 piece
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Rubber SheetRubber Sheet1 piece
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws12 pieces
Pine BoardPine Board1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
JigsawJigsaw
Hole Saw KitHole Saw Kit
Utility KnifeUtility Knife
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
8

Vane f, lever g and channel F

Fix the vane on a 12 mm stainless rod with an M4 screw across, set it in the chamber with the hub in the plate's groove, and pass the rod out through the pump's end and the box's near wall. Fix a hardwood lever g 24 x 12 mm, 245 mm long, on the rod outside, standing up past the lid, with a 28 mm dowel handle on top. Fix a pine board above the top plate, sloping down from 258 mm high at the left end to 238 mm over the partition, to form channel F into C.

Materials for this step:

Stainless Steel RodStainless Steel Rod1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Nylon Insert Lock NutNylon Insert Lock Nut1 piece
Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Pine BoardPine Board1 piece
Wood ScrewsWood Screws8 pieces

Tools needed:

HacksawHacksaw
Hand SawHand Saw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
9

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, the near half cut away: box A with partition D in its grooves, the pump body with passage b and its inlet, the vane, the top plate with flaps e e', flaps c c' at the ports, channel F's board and the spigot. It was checked at five vane angles from -60 to +60 degrees.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
10

Churn

Pour about 8 litres of heavy cream at about 15 °C into chamber B through C (it strains through the partition), checked with the thermometer, and put the lid on. Swing the lever steadily back and forth about 60 degrees each way and time it: cream spurts into channel F, runs into C and strains back. When the butter has gathered in C, draw off the buttermilk at the spigot, pour cold water in and pump it round to rinse the churn and wash the butter, then lift the butter out, work in a pinch of salt and weigh it.

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream8 l
WaterWater1 piece
Coarse Sea SaltCoarse Sea Salt1 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

Pump churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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12

History and honest limits

**W. H. McClintock** of Frankfort, Ross County, Ohio, US 24,223, 31 May 1859, "Churn". He claimed the circularly vibrating suction and force pump with a churn having a perforated partition. He gave no sizes or materials: the box, the printed pump, the rubber flaps and every size are ours.

Materials

16

Tools Required

16

Design Files

3

This blueprint makes

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Butter

Free

198
0
1
Thumbnail
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Buttermilk

Free

72
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