Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

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Chapter 10, How to Build an Internet Toaster

WARNING

The voltage inside the toaster is dangerous—you can receive a shock

that can burn or kill you. When you have the toaster open and

plugged in, do not touch any of the heating elements or wiring.

4. Build the toast message mask

The toast mask is the mechanism that “prints” the desired

message onto the bread in the toaster. After some research,

I found that the easiest-to-construct and most effective mask

was one made from 8-gauge solid copper wire.

Begin by determining the two messages or patterns you want

toasted onto the bread. Try to keep any words short as you will

have limited room inside the toaster.

Strip any insulation off a one-foot length of the wire and bend

it to the desired shape. You can see an example of my mask

pattern in Figure 10-13.

You will probably want to link all of the letters together as I did

to make the process of mounting them inside the toaster easier.

The 8-gauge wire can be difficult to bend, and you will likely

need a pair of pliers. You can also try experimenting with

slightly thinner wire; 10- or 12-gauge may work. Do not be

tempted to cut out the letters and try to solder them together;

solder contains lead, and you do not want any lead near or

touching the items to be toasted.

After bending the copper wire into shape, gently wash it with ...