So, did you figure out what this is?

My hint was, it involves milk.

Here is more of what I found in the old kitchen.

These two basins were filled with all sorts of things, and it wasn’t until I finally got into this space to start cleaning that I discovered these parts and pieces.

The basin itself is set on top of the machine. There is a sort of tap that you can see inside the object in the foreground. You can see at the bottom of the basin on the left, where it goes. When milking, we would pour our pails of milk into the basin (which had a cloth across the top to act as a filter). When it was full enough, we’d turn that tap so line up the hole and allow the milk to pour out.

Below the basin, that pyramid shaped thing (on the far left) was placed onto a sort of peg (you can see an open one in the basin on the right). When the separator was turned on, it would turn, which would make the innards spin. The two spouts were mounted on top of this, directly under the tap, and the milk would pour over the float. As the fresh milk was spun, the cream would rise and go out the top spout, while the skim milk poured out the bottom, into the pails we had under the spouts. I remember an amazingly thick, dense layer of foam would form at the top of the milk.

This is what separates the cream from the milk. The raw milk pours through that opening in the top. It then gets spun through this pile of cones. Using the centrifuge principle, the lighter cream is separated, and both go out openings in the top that line up with the spouts.

One thing I did not find among the parts and pieces is a special key that fits into the holes of the ring that screws onto the top. You might be able to hand tighten it enough, but if you do, it’s very hard to unscrew it again without the key!

So what does that thing in the picture have to do with it?

It’s a tool for cleaning the separator cones.

If you look back at the first picture of the basins, check out the basin on the right. You can there is a hole in the cone. Each of the cones has three holes, and they all line up. The tool is opened, and the bar is slid through a row of holes in the entire stack. Once closed, you can hold it by the finger grips on the top bar, then dip the whole thing into water for washing and rinsing.

When I was a kid, I used to be fascinated by the whole process and, when it was time to clean the separator, my favourite part was cleaning the cones on that tool. Such fun to shake and rattle them like crazy on that thing! 😀

I am really happy to have found these. No idea what I’ll do with them yet, other than NOT put them into the storage shed. We found the manual separator base, and I think the electric one is still in the barn (hidden behind junk). It would be cool to clean them all up and get everything together again.

I wonder if that missing key is in the barn? Hmmm…

The Re-Farmer