The Breakfaster

So this one is a quickie (sorta). Just a clean up job so that I could actually use this as it was intended. This is whats called a Breakfaster from 1938-ish. It was made for people living in apartments that had limited kitchen space in big cities back in the day. The little door on the front is a toaster oven of sorts where you put food (like toast, duh) and the top square acts as a hot plate. I've used it to heat up my tea a few times now. I personally am rabidly in love with the old machined metal and style of this little toaster. Industrial!

Here is what it looked like when I got it.

Mmmmmmmmm, put toast on that slab...

So here we got, time to tear it down. Flip it over.

First, we're removing the handles. The handles are made of Bakelite, which is the predecessor to plastic. It's a cool material that has a semi gloss finish to it and is fairly light. Unfortunately it's a little on the brittle side, so you have to be careful with it. I love the look and feel of Bakelite though, so those handles are gonna get a good cleaning! There are only four bolts holding the handles on, which run the whole heights of the unit, meaning those bolts hold the whole thing together. Be careful you don't drop everything and bruise up your table when these heavy metal pieces come down.

Expose the cord connection and remove carefully. The cord is attached to a ceramic column which acts as the resister for heating the unit. 

Here is a better shot of the column and the heating plate that sits at the top of the unit. That top plate is ceramic as well, and this one was crunched up. However, due to the wire that runs through it, it hold together when the sides and top are put back on. Just be very careful when pulling it out and put pressure on all sides when pulling it out and you can keep it together while moving it. I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures of pulling the insides out, I got busy and it just slipped my mind. 

So the next steps I didn't deem necessary to take pictures. All I did was sand the heck out of the surface to remove the rust and pitting. I started with 400 grit to remove the big stuff. I didn't want to take off too much material, so I was careful to only go down deep enough to get out the majority of the pitting. Next, moved to 600, 800, then 1000 grit to get it shiny again. This was flat out elbow grease. It was a work out, but made it all that much better when it was done. I did this to the outside housing (I know, leave the old patina, but I wanted it so leave me be with my shinies!) as well as the insides where food was going to sit. I wanted it clean as I'm actually going to use it.

So, bolt it all back together and here she be!

I love this thing. I have to admit it is one of the cooler items I own, and I love the fact that it is 70 years old and still works like it should. It heats up quick, stays hot, and doesn't burn anything internally. Food you have to monitor as there is no timer, so you have to just do it till you feel its right and then pull it out. 

This thing is great for cheesy toast...