Riches and Watt No 4 Oil Cake Mill
Production of oil by pressing it out of oil bearing seeds has long been practiced. With the introduction of hydraulic power presses in the early - mid 1800's the degree of oil extracted became much higher than with previous methods. The waste product was a dense slab or 'cake' of crushed and compressed seed husks anywhere up to two feet square by a few inches thick which had a good value as animal fodder, while it transported well in the cake form, animals could not easily eat it in large slabs and it needed to be broken down on the farm.
The result was the invention of the cake breaker, mill or kibbler as it was variously known, either hand cranked or belt driven from horse, steam or later, internal combustion power, these comprised of a hopper to support the cake and two contra-rotating rollers, studded with spikes, which often could be adjusted closer together or further apart depending on cake thickness and how fine it needed to be broken up (cattle were able to eat larger chunks than sheep for instance) the cake slab would be gravity fed into the rollers which would crush and tear the bottom edge into small bite sized pieces, often a chute or screen was fitted below so that the larger lumps would slide down to a collecting basket and finer material and dust would fall through the screen and was often used mixed in with cereal meals.
Riches and Watt advertise a range of four sizes of cake breaker, this illustration from their 1871 catalogue is for the No 1 or A size.
Shown from approximately the same angle as the engraving, this surviving cake mill is a No 4 and was rescued from a scrap yard in Wells next the Sea by John Dickins of Chesham some years ago while on holiday. It has now come to live at the Old Engine House and will provide something interesting for the smaller 1 nhp vertical engine to drive. Other than the belt pulley it appears to be original, although the woodwork of the screen and tray had been renewed by John to match the worm riddled originals.
This shows the gearing on both sides of the frame which drives the crushing rollers, which have individual spked rings keyed to a shaft so that they could be easily replaced if worn or broken. At the top, the hopper, with a hinged, adjustable backplate received the slab of cake. Lower right is the handle that adjusts two eccentric bushes or cams which adjust the roller spacing and controls the fineness of the broken cake. There is no doubt of either the maker or the size as these are cast into the body of the mill.
This view from the rear just reveals the back roller and it's spiked rings, no suitable cake is available these days but it reduces large lumps of coal to small lumps effortlessly !
An interesting update July 2000, Sussex machinery collector John Ambler has recently been in contact, he has acquired an identical looking cake breaker (even down to some of the pattern numbers) however his has the name of R Hunt of Earls Colne, Essex cast on it, he has also found a photograph of another and very similar looking mill with a plate stating Geo Brown & Sons, Leighton Buzzard !
It is known from their 1893 catalogue that R & W factored Hunts Corn Mills for sale, but who actually made these cake breakers is now uncertain, whether one company cast them with anothers name on them, were they bought and then modified for sale by addition of a casting or several makers shared or use duplicate patterns must for the time being remain a matter for conjecture.