Repairable Flatpack Toaster
90 comments
·March 3, 2025kibwen
josephwegner
But I am actually interested in the economics! The author mentions sending his designs out to a factory - I would expect this is astonishingly expensive for a single prototype! Wouldn’t that be thousands of dollars? Is anyone familiar how to get good factory-made parts like this at DIY budgets?
Not that that takes away from the article at all. This project has many merits, and although cost may not be one of them, it’s still interesting!
michaelt
It all depends on what you ask the factory to do.
This project seems to take its heating elements, clockwork timer and knob from a classic Dualit 2 Slice toaster - so those parts are all available off-the-shelf.
Other than that, this design needs some laser cut and bent metal, and some wooden feet. If you're able to bend the metal yourself and find some off-the-shelf feet, you could probably get the flat sheets of stainless steel laser cut and shipped for less than $100.
On the other hand, if one wanted a factory to do more demanding production processes, with more worker time or more machine setup - you're right that it would cost a good deal more.
nancyminusone
I build things like this in similarly low quantity - you are probably looking at a grand or two toaster kit there, 95% of which is the custom parts - if it was done locally. The time for someone else to do it is what your paying for. It can be done exceptionally cheap in dollars if YOU do it, but you'll still pay with your time, and you'll still need machine access.
Cheap and easy "factory" quality is probably PCBWAY or similar in China - they do more than PCBs these days. Call it "prototype" budget - several hundred dollars of parts instead of thousands.
eitally
No, it wouldn't cost thousands. There are plenty of shops that specialize in prototypes and small pilot runs and there's nothing complicated about the design or material of this product.
jdietrich
SendCutSend offer surprisingly inexpensive sheet metal parts in single quantities.
michaelmior
> sending his designs out
sending her designs out
rtsang1
It looks like off the shelf electronics with custom sheet metal parts.
Are far as low volume prototyping goes, sheet metal is as cost efficient as it gets for large metal parts. If you're sourcing from China, I'd estimate 500 bucks per prototype (with two sets in case one breaks).
cogman10
The target, though, is particularly bad.
My parents literally have a toaster from the 70s that they still use. I have a toaster I bought 20 years ago. Toasters (usually) don't have e-waste. They are incredibly simple machines that are easy to buy without so much as a single diode. That's because they are really simply just a box with heating elements.
If you want to battle e-waste like the article suggests, maybe pick a product that doesn't already have a 50-year service life without the need for repairs.
hatthew
Modern toasters are generally way less reliable than older toasters. I think it is very difficult to buy a new toaster today that you can be confident will have a 50-year lifespan.
turnsout
Also true, but how many people are buying toasters in 2025? I would bet that air fryers and toaster ovens outsell toasters 10:1.
Still, I think this is a great portfolio piece. The designer should keep going, and amass a little collection of simple repairable appliances.
crabmusket
Minor point: lots of commenters here are defaulting to male pronouns for the author. In this Dezeen article, for which they spoke to Kasey, they use she/her pronouns. https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/20/kasey-hou-reduce-electrica...
ggm
We had an old toaster which was swinging plates to hold toast against the elements as a central core. Want both sides toasted? flip the toast. It was a 1920s design. Very functional, few parts to break (springs, hinges mostly) and it burned toast very effectively. It also did not accrue crumbs the way modern sealed-box toasters do.
I think if I was making a toaster I'd be looking to this model rather than the slot model, simply because its simpler. Or, placing toast on a flat bed with a reflecting heat plate behind the element. That would work for far thicker toastable objects, and also refreshing pita &c.
So many ways to die. Very cool project btw.
nancyminusone
On the subject of toasters, if you want one that lasts then grab an old toastmaster or Sunbeam (the kind with the chrome sides) and spend a weekend doing a deep clean. They are held together with screws, not bent over tabs. You might be up against decades of baked on grease, so you'll have to break out the sodium hydroxide. You should probably replace the asbestos cord with a rubber one too. The toaster will then last the remainder of your life.
The main downside is that the slots are usually to narrow for bagels.
There aren't any infinite number of old toasters out there, but there's enough out there for everyone who wants to do the above.
cogman10
Have you ever had one fail? Mine is the $10 plastic special from 20 years ago still toasting it's heart out.
The simpler a toaster is, the more likely it is to have eternal life. If you can buy a modern toaster that's just the knob and levers (no digital controls or whatever) then there's really no reason it won't last decades.
hondo77
I bought one from 1965 last year. Got it cheap on eBay. Seller said it didn't work. Seller just didn't know how to turn the knob on the side. I have to buy bread that isn't as wide as I was getting but it's totally worth it. Perfect toast every time.
convolvatron
got a 1930s toastmaster single slice for $30 on eBay. new carbon switch contacts, new nichrome wire, new cord. functions great and really looks nice. there are a lot of broken toasters in the world.
seltzered_
Funny, my first thought in seeing this headline was The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites: http://www.thetoasterproject.org/ (~2010) - more of a reflection about globalism and what is possible to create from scratch. https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_thwaites_how_i_built_a_toas...
krisoft
What I don't like about Thomas Thwaites's Toaster project is that I feel the end product intentionally looks bad. I feel the artist could have chosen different paths and could have created a practical toaster just with a little bit of care. The artist just choose to not do that because if the toaster would look practical and usable that would undermine their message about globalism, and the supposed impossibility of the task. Because in a project like this "man sets out to build a toaster, and actually succeeds" does not sounds good. And that just feels like learned helplessness.
jdietrich
He's an artist, not an engineer. I'm willing to believe that the toaster genuinely is his best effort. I know that I could do far better, but I have a lifetime of experience in herding atoms. I suspect that my attempt at oil painting would be equally risible.
iamwil
You should try it. I'd love to see what an engineer could do with building toasters from scratch.
an_aparallel
How do you give out a mains powered toaster with assembly instructions just like that?
My experience with diy electronics is that most kit designers are super wary of even giving instruction on mains anything...so as not to be held liable.
nancyminusone
The British used to sell appliances without the plug attached - it was just bare wires. Buying the plug separately and knowing how to attach it was just a basic skill you were expected to know.
Not sure what changed, as I understand it they don't really do that anymore.
Terr_
> The British used to sell appliances without the plug attached - it was just bare wires. Buying the plug separately and knowing how to attach it was just a basic skill you were expected to know.
I'm having flashbacks to moving back to the US from the UK-o-sphere, and re-splicing plugs for appliances that supported both voltages.
WWLink
I remember the mr bean skit where he buys a tv and jams the cord into the plug and somehow this works LOL.
I didn't realize they sold them that way intentionally!
jdietrich
It wasn't uncommon for people to just jam wires into the outlet in a pinch, to the extent that public service announcements warned against it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH0Kxjx0sEM
Britain had two common standards for electrical outlets (BS 1363 and the older BS 546) plus a few less-common proprietary types. BS 1363 became the preferred standard for new installations in 1947, but the other types remained fairly common for decades. Appliances were not required to be supplied with a fitted plug until 1994, by which time BS 1363 had become dominant (if not quite ubiquitous).
andrelaszlo
Flashbacks to my ex's dad drilling the "missing" holes in his Ikea computer desk (pieces in the wrong place) makes me wonder if consumers are ready for DIY electronics. Love the concept and industrial look of it though.
debacle
You could make a USB toaster, it would just take a lot longer...
NBJack
Nonsense. We just need...about 10-15 USB-C laptop charging blocks rated at 100W each. I'm sure can find a 1:10 USB charge splitter (heck, maybe we just need to get creative with a few 1:4s) on Temu.
What could possibly go wrong?
alnwlsn
Or, in the pre-USB-PD days, you do this[0]. Only 30 USB ports required. I swear I remember this being a toaster instead of a hot plate, but I guess you would need around 300 USB ports for a toaster.
[0] https://hackaday.com/2022/12/01/throwback-usb-hotplate-used-...
debacle
For starters, that USB splitter would be single use, assuming it didn't melt before your toast was done.
xp84
Brilliant comments like this make me miss Slashdot moderation. +5, Funny
nickcw
Having mended a few toasters in my time I salute this effort. Cheap toasters are very difficult to take apart and mend. The toasting mechanism on this one looks great.
Cheap toasters only last a few years before dying. Usually because someone jams it up then clumsily unjams it while damaging the element.
After going through a few toasters in quick succession I finally bought an expensive Dualit one. It's still going 25 years later. I changed the timer mechanism once which was a joy, and you can easily buy spare parts.
The Dualit cost over 10 times more than the cheap toasters though. I don't regret that purchase though and it has actually saved me money over the years and made much less landfill.
Funnily enough the toaster in this article looks quite like the Dualit. I don't suppose that is a coincidence!
TOMDM
Is there good data on goods that are the largest contributors to e-waste?
A toaster is a great test case for learning about repairable design, but I can only imagine most people will only buy on average 1 or 2 toasters in their life.
Framework seems like they're tackling laptops, which to my gut feel like they're largely responsible for consumer waste.
xp84
For contributors to e-waste in terms of quantity of items, I'd assume somewhere in the top 10 you'd for sure find vape pens, cell phones, tablets, and all manner of computers.
By weight there is probably a lot of large appliances, since their PCBs and chips are so unreliable, usually only lasting a couple of years, and people feel like suckers spending the ~$500-700 of labor and parts (mostly labor) that every repair costs on these, both because they feel like 'this one must be an especially bad design, so maybe I should buy a new one / a different brand' and because it seems insane to spend like 70-100% of the purchase price on a repair. So the whole thing is chucked in the landfill. Of course, the replacement will be a P.O.S. too, but what choice do we have?
mauvehaus
1-2? I'm on 6 or 7, and I'm hoping to get another few decades in. I've spent as little as $10, and as much as $50. When the last one died, I gave serious consideration to the Dualit, but the slots aren't long enough for my usual bread. So I went with Wirecutter's $30 recommendation and fully expect it to die within the decade as well.
Admittedly, I eat toast for breakfast at least 340 days a year, but I do sort of wish someone would sell a toaster that lasts so I could quit putting crappy ones in the landfill.
ShinTakuya
Not sure where you people are getting these multi decade toasters, I need to replace mine every 5-10 years. Obviously not the worst case of e-waste either way but 1 or 2 seems like a severe underestimate but that could just be my own experience.
Usually a heating element dies or similar. If it were easier to replace the heating elements I'd think it'd help reduce waste, but as you and others have noted, that wasn't the point of the article.
Mister_Snuggles
I've only bought two toasters in my life.
The first was a two-slice Kenmore (RIP Sears) which still works. It cost $20 and was purchased close to 25 years ago. I only used this a couple times a week and now the usage is very sporadic, but it always works when I need it to.
The second was a Cuisinart toaster oven, which is not exactly a toaster but has ended up being our primary toaster. I have no idea how old it is since we bought it at a garage sale for $5 about 5 years ago. This is used almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day, and for a lot more than just toast.
I can see buying one more toaster, meaning a toaster oven, in my life, but it will probably be to get new functionality (e.g., air fryer, larger capacity, etc) instead of replacing something broken.
xp84
I, too, would bet that your Cuisinart is likely to outlast you and me. That's what I have, and it's been in daily use for close to a decade now. Other than the silkscreened buttons losing their labels (easy fix: cut out some clear labels made with the P-Touch) it's as good as when it was new. We like it so much that we still kept it when we got a drawer-based air fryer 2 years ago which is my favorite kitchen purchase of all time.
Neikius
I'd say mobile phones are worse, many more produced so even considering phone size. And harder to take apart even though laptops are getting worse. But this is all anecdotal, don't have any hard info.
mattlondon
Probably a lot in generic household appliances - washing machines, microwaves etc. They've all get electronics in these days.
In my limited experience, things that get hot and or wet as part of their function tends to break more often than those that don't. So basically anything in your kitchen or laundry.
slyall
When I was a kid we had an two-slice electric "Side door Toaster" when we stayed in our caravan on holiday.
It had two spring-loaded fold-up doors on each side which you put the toast on. Then they folder vertically to put the toast near the elements. Half way through you pulled down the doors, flipped the slices over and toasted the other half.
https://www.ronebergcairns.com/2006onwards/home06_026.html
Probably easier to construct that a pop-up
jonah-archive
The control knob looks like the one off a Dualit toaster (their Classic model is also extremely repairable), as do the heating elements: https://www.dualit.com/collections/toasters
(I bought a Dualit after using one at a B&B many years ago -- I absolutely love it, though it really is a little overkill for making a few slices of toast each day. But it's a pleasure to use.)
mikepurvis
I have the same $30 no-name toaster that my now-ex purchased shortly after we were married in 2010. I open it up every few years to deep clean the crumbs, and I've changed the cord twice. Thing is an absolute tank.
I try to be a BIFL type of person and am willing to pay a premium for items that will last. Occasionally I hit up against something like this toaster, though, which runs completely counter to my expectations of what makes an indestructible kitchen appliance.
nemomarx
How hard is replacing the cord? That seems like it goes a long way to extending the life already, though.
dmoy
Replacing: usually not hard. Open the thing, unscrew the things holding the ends of the wire on, remove old cord, put new cord's wires in, screw down, close thing back up.
(Often "open the thing" and "close the thing" are the hardest - modern devices with plastic clipped on plastic and needing delicate shimming to pry stuff open)
Depending on the level of fix you're going for and where the break is, it can be anywhere from very simple and a few minutes, to much more involved.
If the break is actually at the plug end, you can often pop off the plug housing, trim the wire back, and do basically the same as above.
If the break is in the middle of the cord and you're not squeamish about the final fix having electrical tape on bare wire, then cut, strip, twist, tape, and ... don't fuck it up?
dmoy
I would also personally not do this with an American ungrounded toaster, even though I have an EE degree and have done a lot of wire stripping, re-assembling wires, electrical tape, soldering, etc stuff.
A new toaster is cheap. House fires are not.
brudgers
With experience, there is nothing hard about changing a cord.
Without experience, it is harder. Removing the strain release requires mechanical sympathy; desoldering/soldering requires soldering skill; etc.
If it was your job, you’d pick it up in a day or few. If it is not your job, the learning curve is spread across the time between jobs and there’s relearning if the jobs are infrequent.
hinkley
The thing is with something like this, if you're clever with the design you could make a device that packs flat, but isn't entirely flat.
So imagine you make the depth of the toaster greater than the height (easy with those feet). You put a quarter inch radius on the top plate, make the front and back plate a half an inch shorter so they nest inside the top plate in the box. And in fact if you put locking tabs on the two plates to keep the front from oil canning, those would also fit in if you flip the plates the right way 'round in the box.
You can tell from the bolts in the picture that there are already right angle bends in the sheet metal. So they're already using the third dimension just not with as much flair.
rssoconnor
Can someone draw what hinkley is talking about?
cosmic_cheese
I had similar thoughts. It’s already quite handsome for a project of this nature but there’s still a lot of low hanging fruit for aesthetic improvement without negatively impacting other aspects.
I hope the comments here don't end up quibbling about the practicality or economics of this toaster specifically, because the point here is the process. This project involves reverse engineering, designing from scratch, manufacturing, developing beginner-accessible documentation, and performing real-world user studies. We should be encouraging people to do more of this!