'Frankentoaster' is finally done! This is not your ordinary toaster! I fitted it with an industrial temperature control system so it can hold temperature precisely enough to be used for tempering knives and for baking Cerakote!

It holds temperature to within a degree or two, and I have double checked that the temperatures are accurate with a separate temperature meter.

It's built around an inexpensive PID controller I bought off amazon, it uses a solid state relay to turn the elements on and off. There is a fan that was originally part of the toaster that circulates air within the chamber to help keep the temperature more even.

The chamber only has about a 15°F temperature gradient from top to bottom which is pretty amazing given how low tech this thing is!
I also installed a fan in the bottom electronics enclosure, it was supposed to keep the electronics cooler, but it accomplished the opposite as it was moving around hot air from the inner wall that would have otherwise simply risen away from the electronics! Live and learn on that one! The fan will be removed shortly!

Custom tools like this and (soon) my sandblaster will help make me more efficient and make the processes more enjoyable!

#knifeclub #knifemaking #heattreat #diy


See the original post and comments on Instagram