Man makes toaster

[Pishtaco]

The point at which it stopped being possible for us to make the things that surround us is long past. For example, my first attempt to extract metal involved a chimney pot, some hairdryers, a leaf blower, and a methodology from the 15th century - this is about the level of technology we can manage when we're acting alone. I failed to get pure enough iron in this way, though if I'd tried a few more times and refined my technique and knowledge of the process I probably would've managed in the end. Instead I found a 2001 patent about industrial smelting of Iron ores using microwave energy. Microwaves are so much more convenient and so I tried to replicate the process using a domestic microwave. After a bit of careful experimentation through which I realised I was unlikely to blow the thing up or cook my insides without realising, I got the timing and ingredients about right and made a blob of iron about as big as a 10p coin. I'm rather proud of it, though it's only enough to make perhaps one bar of the grill to hold the bread. Still, it's proof of concept.

The project won't be a 'how is it made?' industrial promo or an anti-industry tirade either. It's about scale, the total inter-reliance of people and societies, the triviality of some (anti-)globalisation discourse, what we have to lose, and DIY.

The toaster project

[DGuller]

Doesn't putting metal into microwave eventually ruin it?

[Siege]

Millenialist or survivalist?

[Caliga]

Doesn't putting metal into microwave eventually ruin it?

Actually I don't think it does directly, but it can certainly spark a fire that can.

I think I heard once that if you put actual fire (i.e. a lit candle) in a microwave and turn it on, something OSSUM happens, but I can't remember what exactly.

[Alatriste]

Actually, I once put inside the microwave a dish with a thin golden edging, and the result was... quite spectacular, to say the least. Like a tesla coil, the dish emitted blue rays all around!

Needless to say I switched it off inmediately. The microwave kept working and I have never dared repeating the experiment.

[Josquius]

I used to put metal in the microwave all the time when I was a kid (until my parents noticed me one time and went off it).
It just gets a bit sparky. No definite permanent damage.

[Valmy]

Was it Scipio?

[DontSayBanana]

I used to put metal in the microwave all the time when I was a kid (until my parents noticed me one time and went off it).
It just gets a bit sparky. No definite permanent damage.

Trying to microwave an Arby's sandwich while still in the foil wrap results in a fireball.