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Rack-and-Segment Crank Churn: A Crank Rocks a Toothed Segment That Drives the Dasher Up and Down
Buttercup

Created by

Buttercup

8. October 2026IE
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Rack-and-Segment Crank Churn: A Crank Rocks a Toothed Segment That Drives the Dasher Up and Down

G. S. Rarey of Columbus, Ohio, received US 20,089, dated 27 April 1858, for a churn that turns a crank into an up-and-down dasher stroke: a toothed wheel drives a pinion with a crank pulley, a rod from it rocks a toothed segment, and the segment works a rack bar carrying the dasher rod. This rung prints the frame, gears, segment, rack and dashers at tabletop scale, on a stock pot.
Advanced
About 6 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

Gearing and stroke

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

Crank-worked dashers, before it

Hall worked a plunging dasher from a crank through a rod; Rarey adds a pinion, a toothed segment and a rack.
3

Read US 20,089

"This is a simple device and a good length of stroke with a quick speed may be given the dasher K, and by a very direct means so that not much power can be lost by friction."
4

Print the parts

Print the frame (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-frame-d.stl), the lid (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-lid-c.stl), wheel E with its crank (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-wheel-e.stl), pinion F (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-pinion-f.stl), the crank pulley (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-crank-pulley.stl), the segment (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-segment-h.stl), the rack (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-rack-i.stl), the rod (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-rod-g.stl) and two dashers (/uploads/blueprints/rack-segment-crank-dasher-churn-dasher-k.stl). The lid and frame need a 240 mm print bed. 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

Frame on the lid

Bolt the frame upright on the lid with two M4 screws, washers and lock nuts. Glue a 10 mm dowel into the boss for wheel E, standing 16 mm out in front, and one into the boss for the segment, standing 14 mm out behind. Drill a small pilot in each dowel's end.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Flat WasherFlat Washer1 piece
Nylon Insert Lock NutNylon Insert Lock Nut1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Hand DrillHand Drill
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
6

Gears, rod and rack

Push pinion F's axle through the curved bar from the front, slide the crank pulley onto its flat behind, and fix it with an M3 screw and washer in the axle's end. Put wheel E on its dowel, meshing with F, held by an M3 screw and washer through the hole in its crank arm; put the segment on its dowel, held the same way. Slide the rack into the guide with its teeth toward the segment. Join the crank pulley to the end of the segment's curved arm with the rod, using M6 screws and lock nuts.

Materials for this step:

Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Flat WasherFlat Washer1 piece
Nylon Insert Lock NutNylon Insert Lock Nut1 piece

Tools needed:

Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
7

Dasher and rod

Cut a 10 mm square hardwood strip 231 mm long as the dasher rod and sand it. Fit one dasher at its foot and the other about 86 mm higher, each fixed by an M3 screw through its boss, drilled through the rod. Stand the rod in the pot, set the lid on with the rod through its square hole, and screw the rod into the rack's socket.

Materials for this step:

Stock PotStock Pot1 piece
Hardwood StripHardwood Strip1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Hand DrillHand Drill
SandpaperSandpaper
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
8

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build: the pot and lid, the frame with its curved bar, wheel E with the crank, pinion F, the crank pulley and rod, the segment with its curved arm, the rack in its guide, the square dasher rod and two notched dashers.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
9

Churn

Pour in 1 litre of heavy cream at about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Turn the handle steadily and time it with the stopwatch: the dashers rise and fall four times for each turn. When the butter comes, lift the lid and dashers out, pour off the buttermilk, wash the butter in cold water until it runs clear, work in a pinch of salt and weigh it.

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream1 l
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)
10

Troubleshooting

Rack-and-segment churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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11

History and honest limits

**G. S. Rarey** of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, US 20,089, 27 April 1858. His case was a wooden box of any proper size, its lid hooked down to it; the frame could be cast of metal in one piece. His dasher was two plates or boards notched to form projecting arms. He claimed working the dasher up and down from the wheel through the pinion, crank pulley, connecting rod, segment and rack bar. Our pot, sizes, gear counts and printed parts are ours. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn.

Materials

11

Tools Required

9

Design Files

1

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