You can find out how to do just about anything you want to online. If there’s a way to make something yourself, there’s some fanatic out there that’s going to give it a go, no matter how difficult it might be. We’ve talked about homemade glow sticks, and a homemade energy meter, but how about some homemade iron? That’s right, in his attempt to build his own toaster, Thomas Thwaites had to learn how to make iron ore in a microwave.
Step 2, Attempt 2: Smelting Iron Ore in a Microwave from Thomas Thwaites on Vimeo.
The toaster is for the sake of art, of course, but still. Knowing that you too can build your own toaster? That’s got to be worth something, right? You can point at a plate of toast and jam and say, “I made that. No, not the toast. Well, okay, I made the toast too, but I also made the toaster!” Then you pull out your rough-looking DIY toaster and impress the world. You can’t put a price on impressing other people!
Tags: Thomas Thwaites, The Toaster Project, building a toaster from scratch, refining iron ore, making iron in a microwave, do it yourself projects