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Pass-Through Barrel Churn: A Twisted-Wing Dasher That Comes Out Whole Through a Hatch
Woody

Created by

Woody

6. October 2026NO
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Pass-Through Barrel Churn: A Twisted-Wing Dasher That Comes Out Whole Through a Hatch

Spain set out to keep "the cream when it becomes thick, from revolving with the dasher," and to get the whole dasher out through a small hatch for cleaning. Edward Spain of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received US 5,585, dated 16 May 1848, for a barrel churn whose dasher has four beating wings, each broader at one end than the other, joined to a long and a short bar crossed at each end, the long arms at one end opposite the short arms at the other. It runs on a pivot in a bearing box at one end; the crank's axle screws into a nut at the other; unscrewed, the dasher is lifted onto its pivot end and passed out "diagonally into the square aperture in the barrel." This rung looks at the wings' geometry, then prints the dasher, bearing box and hatch, fits them to a container laid on its side, and makes butter.
Intermediate
About 4 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

The wings' geometry

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Oblique wings on a crank before it

The embedded blueprint sets four wings at 30° to the axle on a cross. Spain twists his wings from a long arm at one end to a short arm at the other.
3

Read US 5,585

"The dasher is removed from the churn by unscrewing the operating axle from the same, and elevating the dasher on to its pivot end by passing the broad ends of the beating wings at its opposite end, diagonally into the square aperture in the barrel; when it can readily be lifted out."
4

Print the parts

Print the dasher standing on one end (/uploads/blueprints/pass-through-barrel-churn-dasher.stl), with supports, and press an M10 nut into the socket at its crank end. Print the bearing box (/uploads/blueprints/pass-through-barrel-churn-bearing-box.stl), the hatch frame (/uploads/blueprints/pass-through-barrel-churn-hatch-frame.stl) and the cover with its vent tube (/uploads/blueprints/pass-through-barrel-churn-hatch-cover.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
Hex NutHex Nut1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
5

The barrel

Lay a round food-grade container about 170 mm across on its side. Cut a 66 mm square hatch in its side near one end and set the hatch frame in it with silicone. Screw the bearing box inside the far end on the axis, and drill the near end on the axis for the axle. Stand it on two pine cradles.

Materials for this step:

Food-Grade Storage ContainerFood-Grade Storage Container1 piece
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece
Pine BoardPine Board1 piece
#8 x 1" Wood Screw#8 x 1" Wood Screw1 piece

Tools needed:

Coping SawCoping Saw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Hand SawHand Saw
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
6

Dasher and crank

Pass the dasher in through the hatch, pivot end first, and seat its pivot in the bearing box. Cut a length of M10 threaded rod, pass it through the near end and screw it into the dasher's nut. Bend or fix a crank handle on its outer end.

Materials for this step:

Threaded RodThreaded Rod1 piece
Hex NutHex Nut1 piece
Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece

Tools needed:

HacksawHacksaw
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
SandpaperSandpaper
7

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, not of the patent: the barrel cut away to show the dasher of four tapering wings between a long-and-short cross at each end, the bearing box, the axle and crank, the hatch frame and its cover with the vent tube, and the cradles.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
8

Crank and make butter

Let the heavy cream stand until it reaches about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Pour in 1 litre through the hatch and fit the cover. Turn the crank steadily and time until the butter comes. Unscrew the axle and lift the dasher out through the hatch. 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.
Step 8 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream1000 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

A dasher that will not come out, an axle that slips

Pass-through barrel churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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10

History and honest limits

**Edward Spain** of Philadelphia received US 5,585, dated 16 May 1848. A sheet-metal lining, its upper edge stiffened by a strong wire, supported the aperture so "the perfect contour of the churn about the aperture, is preserved"; a tube through the cover let "the gas" escape and fresh air enter. He claimed the form of the dasher, which gives the cream a compound reciprocating and rotary motion and lets a large dasher pass whole through a small square aperture. **Honest limits.** A food-grade container and printed parts stand in for his staved barrel and wooden dasher. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn. Your times and weights are the result.

Materials

11

Tools Required

13

Design Files

1

CC0 Public Domain

This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.

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