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Rack-and-Pinion Rolling Beater Churn: Beaters That Turn One Way Up, the Other Way Down
Norman B. Livingston, Portland, Indiana · Public domain (expired patent)
Emma

Created by

Emma

6. October 2026SE
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Rack-and-Pinion Rolling Beater Churn: Beaters That Turn One Way Up, the Other Way Down

Livingston wanted a deep, narrow churn in which every part of the cream is worked. Norman B. Livingston of Portland, Indiana, received US 9,097, dated 6 July 1852, for a churn in which "a vertical rack (b) and groove (c) on each of two opposite sides of the box, receive pinions (d) on the two ends of a shaft (e) from which project wings or beaters (f)." A rod from a handle raises and lowers the shaft, and the beaters revolve "in one direction when going up and in the opposite direction when going down." He held a deep box made firmer, yellower butter than shallow vessels; that is his observation. This rung works out the turn per stroke, then prints the wing hub, pinions and racks, fits them in a deep box, and makes butter.
Intermediate
About 4 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

Turn per stroke

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

A dasher that turns as it rises and falls before it

The embedded blueprint turns an upright dasher with a pin in a spiral slot. Livingston turns a horizontal beater shaft with pinions on racks.
3

Read US 9,097

"The motion of the handle up and down, causes the shaft (e) and beaters (f), to ascend and descend in the groove (c), and the pinions (d) working at the same time in the racks (b), the beaters are thereby caused to revolve in one direction when going up and in the opposite direction when going down, so that both the vertical and the rotary movements, are reversed at every stroke."
4

Print the parts

Print the wing hub (/uploads/blueprints/rack-and-pinion-rolling-beater-churn-wing-hub.stl), two 14-tooth pinions (/uploads/blueprints/rack-and-pinion-rolling-beater-churn-pinion.stl) and two racks with their grooves (/uploads/blueprints/rack-and-pinion-rolling-beater-churn-rack-and-groove.stl). Print in PLA at 0.2 mm layers, 30 % infill, 4 walls; wash before first use.

Materials for this step:

PLA FilamentPLA Filament1 piece

Tools needed:

FDM 3D PrinterFDM 3D Printer
5

The deep box

Take a deep, narrow food-safe box about 130 × 120 × 260 mm. Glue a rack upright on each of two opposite inside walls, directly facing each other, teeth the same way.

Materials for this step:

Food-Grade Storage ContainerFood-Grade Storage Container1 piece
Two-Part EpoxyTwo-Part Epoxy1 piece

Tools needed:

ClampsClamps
Tape MeasureTape Measure
6

Shaft, rod and lever

Pass a 10 mm square hardwood shaft through the hub and fix a pinion on each end so each meshes its rack, the shaft's ends riding in the grooves. Pivot a steel rod on the shaft's middle, and its top on a pine hand lever pivoted on a post at the box's end.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Mild Steel RodMild Steel Rod1 piece
Pine BoardPine Board1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Hex NutHex Nut1 piece
#8 x 1" Wood Screw#8 x 1" Wood Screw1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
HacksawHacksaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
7

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, not of the patent: the deep box with its front off to show the racks on two walls, the shaft with the pinions and the wing hub, the rod and the lever.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
8

Work the lever and make butter

Let the heavy cream stand until it reaches about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Pour in 2 litres. Work the lever up and down; the beaters roll one way and back. 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.
Step 8 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream2000 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

Pinions that skip, a shaft that tilts

Rack-and-pinion beater troubleshooting.

Flow

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10

History and honest limits

**Norman B. Livingston** of Portland, Fountain County, Indiana, received US 9,097, dated 6 July 1852. He claimed the racks, grooves and pinions by which the shaft and beaters traverse the cream with a compound vertical revolving and reciprocating motion. **Honest limits.** A food-safe box and printed gears stand in for his. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn. Your times and weights are the result.

Materials

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Tools Required

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Design Files

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