Decrust Your Bread with Ease Thanks to This DIY Bread De-Cruster

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If you like to make a lot of toast but are fed up with manually removing the crust, then this domestic appliance might be just the thing you've been waiting for. 

Follow this guide to find out how. 

As you can imagine, you'll need some tools and materials before you get started.

Materials and gear needed

• Timber (sheets and lengths)
• Gorilla wood glue
• Length of metal rod
• Wood filler
• Dewalt table saw
• GALAX orbital sander
• Pulley wheels
• Rubber pulley belt
• Motor
• Speed controller
• Plastic lettuce spinner (the main drum)
• Pillow bearings
• Basic tools (wrench, screwdrivers, etc)
• Various nuts and bolts
• Mini lathe

With all your gear in hand, let's get on with the build.

Step 1: Make the frame

The first step is to take your wooden sheet and measure the pieces for the frame of the decrusting machine. Cut down to size, sand, and generally clean up as needed. Drill and core holes for assembly too. 

With that done, glue and nail the pieces to make the frame as shown in the video. Clamp and leave the glue to fully cure. 

With that done, sand down the piece. Fill in any gaps between the wooden pieces. 

Step 2: Make the de-cruster mechanism

With that done, take your pieces of metal sheet and cut them down into equally sized plates. Then drill holes through each corner as shown in the guide. 

Shapen the edges of the metal plates using your angle grinder by cutting the cutter edge at an angle. Further, hone the edges using wettened sandpaper. Fasten the blades to a square of wood to make the main cutting head.

With that done, 3D print the other parts of the cutting head as needed. Using a hot glue gun, assemble the 3D plastic parts for the cutting head as needed. 

Attach the springs, mounting rods, and other plastic and metal parts required for the head too. Watch the video for more details on this section. 

Next, make a small wooden plate to trigger the 3D printed expandable jaws of the decrusting head. Cut and drill as needed, and attach to the top of the cutting head with a large spring as shown. 

Step 3: Make the bread mounting platform

Next, using a series of rods and rod bearings, create a rail and platform and attach to the frame as shown. With that done, sketch out the design for the main bread platform, and cut out and sand as needed.

In this case, the platform will look like a small handled chopping board. 

Mount it to the rail platform you created earlier and install it on the rails to the frame.

With that done, create the rail for the main cutting head too, and install it at the rear of the bread decruster frame. 

This setup will allow the main bread platform to be placed under the cutting head and retracted once complete. The other rail will allow the cutting head to depress and retract as needed. 

Step 4: Motorize the piece

With that done, create and cut more pieces of wood for the main cutting head motor mechanism. Drill, core, and sand as needed. 

Take your hexagonal profile steel rod, and machine in your lathe as shown in the video. Connect the rod, other 3D parts, and wooden head connectors together at the top of the wooden frame as shown in the video. 

This rod will allow the cutting head to be raised and depressed at will. 

With that done, take another length of steel roof and cut down to size to make the depressing handle. Connect to the main head mechanism as shown. 

With this rod, you should now be able to pull down the cutting head and raise it as needed. Test the mechanism and adjust if needed. 

And with that, your DIY bread decruster is basically complete. Now all you need to do is install it in your kitchen and use it for real. 

If you enjoyed this little project, you might enjoy making another handy domestic appliance. How about, for example, your own DIY lettuce spinner?