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Roller-Fulcrum Dash Churn: A Vibrating Dash That Also Works the Butter
Emma

Created by

Emma

6. October 2026SE
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Roller-Fulcrum Dash Churn: A Vibrating Dash That Also Works the Butter

Lindley and Perry set out to admit "a sufficient quantity of air" while preventing the cream "from being thrown out", in a machine that also works the butter after it is churned. Noah H. Lindley of Redding and William Perry of Bridgeport, Connecticut, received US 2,993, dated 10 March 1843, for a churn with a half-cylinder case, wedge-shaped pieces along the top of each side, and a four-sided dash on a handle that "passes up through a roller (e) which forms its fulcrum". The cream thrown against the wedges strikes the curves of the cover and the roller and falls back into the middle; for working, the dash presses the butter up and flattens it out against the wedge. This rung works out the lever, then prints the ends, dash, roller and wedges, bends a stainless half cylinder, and makes and works butter.
Intermediate
About 5 hours, plus printing

Instructions

1

The lever

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2

A half-cylinder case before it

The embedded blueprint turns a wheel in a box with a semicircular bottom. Lindley and Perry swing a dash in theirs instead, on a lever.
3

Read US 2,993

"When the buttermilk is to be worked out of the butter it is put into the churn and pressed up and flattened out by the dash against the wedge pin as the dash recedes the inner end falls down and the edge of the cake of butter is presented to the dash which again squeezes it up against the top as before. This is repeated till the butter is sufficiently worked."
4

Print the parts

Print two end pieces flat (/uploads/blueprints/roller-fulcrum-dash-churn-end.stl), with a step at the top for the roller. Print the dash (/uploads/blueprints/roller-fulcrum-dash-churn-dash.stl), a four-sided prism with its rib; the roller with its square hole and gudgeons (/uploads/blueprints/roller-fulcrum-dash-churn-roller.stl); and two wedge pieces (/uploads/blueprints/roller-fulcrum-dash-churn-wedge.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

Bend and assemble the case

Cut a 0.5 mm stainless sheet 160 mm wide and about 280 mm long, deburr it, and bend it round a 140 mm form into a U with 30 mm straight sides. Seat it in the curved grooves of both end pieces in silicone. Glue a wedge piece along the top of each side, sloping inward.

Materials for this step:

Stainless Steel Sheet - 304Stainless Steel Sheet - 3041 piece
Silicone SealantSilicone Sealant1 piece

Tools needed:

Tin SnipsTin Snips
Deburring ToolDeburring Tool
Rubber MalletRubber Mallet
ClampsClamps
Tape MeasureTape Measure
6

Dash, roller and cover

Pass a 10 mm square hardwood handle through the roller and glue the dash on its foot, the dash just clearing the bottom. Drop the roller's gudgeons into the steps. Cut a plywood cover with a slot over the roller, a little wider than the handle's swing, and hollow its underside toward the roller.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
Wood GlueWood Glue1 piece

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Coping SawCoping Saw
SandpaperSandpaper
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
7

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, not of the patent: one end left off to show the stainless half cylinder, the wedge pieces along the sides, the four-sided dash on its handle through the roller, and the cover lifted off.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
8

Churn, then work the butter

Let the heavy cream stand until it reaches about 15 °C, checked with the thermometer. Pour in 500 ml, fit the cover, and swing the handle steadily; time until the butter comes. Pour off the buttermilk, add cold water, and swing again to press the butter against the wedge, as they did, until the water runs clear. Work in a pinch of salt the same way and weigh the butter.
Step 8 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Heavy CreamHeavy Cream500 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 dash that sticks, cream that escapes

Roller-fulcrum dash churn troubleshooting.

Flow

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10

History and honest limits

**Noah H. Lindley** of Redding and **William Perry** of Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut, received US 2,993, dated 10 March 1843. Their case stood on four legs; the roller was "about half as long as the churn is wide in the clear," its gudgeons resting "in steps in the sides of the churn"; the cover was flat on top, its underside hollowed with the curve of a circle toward the roller, and buttoned down when in use. They claimed the roller in combination with the dash and staff, and the cover in combination with the case and dash. **Honest limits.** Our roller runs the full length into steps in the end pieces, where theirs was about half as long. Stainless sheet and printed parts stand in for their wooden case. FDM prints hold food in their layer lines, so wash well and replace when worn. Your times and weights are the result.

Materials

9

Tools Required

14

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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