I got a set…well two sets… of little thin spanners for small nuts and gaps…
Can’t have too many tools…and I repair and fix lots…
Buy an old one…and fix it…
A few years ago ours was less than £20 from a well known site, and I spend an evening dismantling the whole thing, proper cleaning and tidying, replaced an element and it has worked properly ever since. Never thought to ask for a spanner!
The previous toaster was a Morphy Richards, a wedding present in 1979 which had been repaired several times, and ended up with a bit of copper wire replacing a bit of burnt element to complete the circuit. (I sense twitching from some electricians here…don’t worry, the house wiring might be as bad, I dare not look too closely).
I now expect the Dualit to last the next 40 odd years (maybe I should invest in another element, but they are handed so which will fail next?)
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Great idea, but suspect SWMBO wouldn’t entertain that. Then again if it’s cheap enough, I could do it on the basis of repair and sell, then if I do a good enough job, she may change her mind - Thanks
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By the time the body (cast aluminum) is polished up with Autosolve it looks like new. The stainless steel cover (with the bread slots) is more difficult to get like new, so I made a careful choice of the toaster I selected. With the toaster looking like new, clean and tidy, and working, surely SWMBO must be satisfied. As HH says, Dualit spares are available from the factory (now in Crawley), and the design has not changed much, and clean and repair is better than buying new - and much much cheaper.
Cleaning and polishing are one of the great pleasures for me when I undertake a project, and end up with a clean and properly working item. I have some specialties that have a habit of multiplying!
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It’s always good to fix things 
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Bl00dy bedroom net curtains. A couple of months back, the curtains seemed to have caught on the nets behind, then the curtain cord broke, and the top of the nets lost its hem thread around the cord, so we had a big sag, not a good look. I’ve spent weeks seeing it every day as we open the curtains, so while we were cleaning the bedroom today, I got the steps, and took the nets down to repair. Mrs W suggested stapling it, and I reminded her that she has had a brain injury. When I had a look the hem stitch loss was huge, over 2 metres. I spent the next two hours doing a running lock stitch along the line that had broken, and beyond both ends to make it all secure. Then in the wash and up again, looks fine. I notice that my eyesight is not as acute as it was. Oh .and two and a half metres took me two hours, but seeing as we have non-standard window sizes, it saved a load of messing about getting new made to measure. Extra glass of wine for me!
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Well deserved Max!
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Among some of the stupid things that my father wanted me to do was a be a tailor, and that was the most sensible.
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Arrived … then found that one of the nuts had stripped the thread on the bolt (probably my cack handed attempt last time). So had to order a new set.
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