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Partition Air-Tube Plunger Churn: Cream Rushing Through Branch Tubes Draws Air Down
John O'Neil, Xenia, Ohio · Public domain (expired patent)
Emma

Created by

Emma

6. October 2026SE
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Partition Air-Tube Plunger Churn: Cream Rushing Through Branch Tubes Draws Air Down

O'Neil used the rush of the cream itself to draw air into it. John O'Neil of Xenia, Ohio, received US 7,531, dated 30 July 1850, for an atmospheric churn: a box divided by a movable partition with its lower edge perforated; an air tube down the partition with a bowl at its top, in the lid, holding a spring-closed hinged valve; a horizontal tube at its foot and branch tubes through the partition's lower edge, which "serve the double purpose of breaking the cream as it passes through and of communicating the current of atmosphere to the opposite apartment." Two plungers on a rocking lever, one cut to pass over the air tube, work oppositely. This rung estimates the suction, then prints the partition with its tubes, the valve bowl and the plungers, builds the box and lever, and makes butter.
Advanced
About 5 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

The suction

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Two plungers forcing cream through holes before it

The embedded blueprint throws cream between three chambers. O'Neil uses two, and lets the cream's rush through branch tubes draw air down an air tube.
3

Read US 7,531

"The depression of one, and the same time the elevation of the other causes the cream to be violently rushed through the horizontal tubes d, d, and the holes in the partition from one apartment to the other alternately. The passage of the cream through the tubes d, d, causes a suction of the atmosphere down the pipe b, through the horizontal part of the tube c, to d, d, and thence to the body of cream in each apartment."
4

Print the parts

Print the partition with its air tube, foot tube and branches in one piece (/uploads/blueprints/partition-air-tube-plunger-churn-partition-and-tubes.stl), with supports. Blow through the tube's top to check air comes out of both branches. Print the valve bowl (/uploads/blueprints/partition-air-tube-plunger-churn-valve-bowl.stl), one plunger (/uploads/blueprints/partition-air-tube-plunger-churn-plunger.stl) and one notched plunger (/uploads/blueprints/partition-air-tube-plunger-churn-notched-plunger.stl). Print in PETG at 0.2 mm layers, 30 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.

Materials for this step:

PETG FilamentPETG Filament1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
5

Box, partition and valve

Take a food-safe box about 220 × 120 × 180 mm and fit two plywood strips inside the long sides at the middle as grooves, so the partition slides in and out. Drill the lid over the air tube's top and seat the bowl's spigot onto the tube through it. Hinge a small leather flap on the bowl's seat with a light spring, as his, so air passes down but cream cannot rise.

Materials for this step:

Food-Grade Storage ContainerFood-Grade Storage Container1 piece
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Leather StripLeather Strip1 piece
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece

Tools needed:

Coping SawCoping Saw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
6

Plungers and lever

Glue a 12 mm hardwood dowel rod in each plunger, the notched one on the side of the air tube. Screw a pine standard to each side of the box at the middle, pass a dowel axle through them and a pine lever, and join each rod to the lever on a loose screw.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Pine BoardPine Board1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Hex NutHex Nut1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
#8 x 1" Wood Screw#8 x 1" Wood Screw1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
7

The patent drawing

US 7,531 drawing sheet, public domain (expired patent).
Step 7 - Image 1
8

Rock and make butter

Let the heavy cream stand until it reaches about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Pour in 1.5 litres. Rock the lever briskly; bubbles should come from the branch tubes. Time until the butter comes. Pour off the buttermilk, add cold water, churn a little and pour off again until it runs clear; work in a pinch of salt and weigh the butter.

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream1500 ml
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)
9

No air, cream in the bowl

Partition air-tube churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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10

History and honest limits

**John O'Neil** of Xenia, Greene County, Ohio, received US 7,531, dated 30 July 1850. His plungers had parts of two sides cut away, leaving about 1½ inches at each corner, "for the purpose of gathering the butter above the dasher." He claimed the construction of the air tubes in combination with the plungers and partition. **Honest limits.** Printed parts and a food-safe box stand in for his; the notebook's pressure drop is a rough estimate. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn. Your times and weights are the result.

Materials

14

Tools Required

10

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CC0 Public Domain

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