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Oblique-Blade Potato Masher: Press and Turn the Ring
A masher that only presses leaves lumps where it did not land.
Robert Crane Jr. of Columbia, Pennsylvania, received US 171,603, dated 28 December 1875, for a potato masher: a ring joined to a central stem by six, eight or more wedge-shaped blades "inclined at angle of about twenty-five or thirty degrees," rigid with the handle so it can be "pressed vertically downward, and simultaneously revolved by the hand."
This rung works out how a turn drives the blades in, then prints the bladed ring, fits a stem and handle, and mashes a pan of potatoes.
Beginner
About 1 hour, plus printing
Instructions
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Pressing and turning
Pressing and turning
Loading Jupyter Notebook...
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A cutting masher before it
A cutting masher before it
The embedded blueprint splits the potato with teeth on a disk. Crane makes the blades the whole face and inclines them so a turn drives them through.
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Read US 171,603
Read US 171,603
"Just above its cutting-edge these blades widen radially outward, and unite with the vertical inner face of the ring in an oblique direction, inclined at angle of about twenty-five or thirty degrees. This oblique position gives the upper and lower edges of the blades a sharp angle or cutting-edge, and the narrower triangular and oblique spaces between the blades renders this implement of superior utility and efficiency."
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Print the head
Print the head
Print the ring with its eight inclined blades and hub (/uploads/blueprints/oblique-blade-potato-masher-head.stl). Print in PETG at 0.2 mm layers, 30 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.
Materials for this step:
PETG Filament1 pieceTools needed:
FDM 3D Printer5
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Stem and handle
Stem and handle
Epoxy a 60 mm length of 8 mm steel rod into the hub as the stem, and a drilled hardwood handle on its top, so the whole is rigid.
Materials for this step:
Mild Steel Rod1 piece
Hardwood Dowels1 piece
Two-Part Epoxy1 pieceTools needed:
Hacksaw
Cordless Drill
Drill Bit Set6
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The build in 3D
The build in 3D
FreeCAD model of this build, not of the patent: the 80 mm ring, eight blades inclined about 28° joining it to the hub, the steel stem, ferrule and handle.
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Press and turn
Press and turn
Boil 500 g of potatoes, peeled and quartered, for about 20 minutes until a knife slides in; drain. Mash half by pressing and turning at once; mash the other half by pressing only. Time both to no lumps.
Materials for this step:
Potatoes1 piece
Water1 pieceTools needed:
Saucepan
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (Large)
Stopwatch8
8
Blades that bend, a head that turns on the stem
Blades that bend, a head that turns on the stem
Oblique-blade potato masher troubleshooting.
Flow
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History and honest limits
History and honest limits
**Robert Crane Jr.** of Columbia, Pennsylvania, filed US 171,603 on 26 February 1875; it is dated 28 December 1875. The blades' upper edges rise outward to meet the ring's top, their lower edges are horizontal. He knew that a handle with oblique blades in a ring made a revolving churn dasher, and claimed only the potato masher of ring, blades and handle rigidly connected.
**Honest limits.** A printed head stands in for his metal one. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn. Your times are the result.
Materials
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Tools Required
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Design Files
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