A simple electrically heated coffee pot can be made as follows:

Procure a round tin can of about two quarts capacity. This can should be about 5 inches in diameter and should be open at one end. The open end should be round and smooth, so that a wooden cover can be easily fitted into it.

Cover the bottom and sides of the can with heavy felt, sticking it on with shellac. Put on a layer of electrician's tape over the felt, and stick a piece of fiber or cardboard on the bottom. Then give the whole outside of the coffee pot a couple of good coats of shellac. It is very important that this part of the work be well done, since if the can is not properly covered with felt, the heat generated in the coffee pot will be conducted off so quickly by the air that it will be impossible to boil water in it.

The next step is to make a cover for the can. This cover should be made from hard wood, should fit tightly, and should have a small hole in it to allow steam to escape. A standard water-proof lamp socket should be screwed to the inner side of the cover, and the leading-in wires should be brought out through small holes drilled in the cover for that purpose. Each wire should be brought through a separate hole, so as to avoid possibilities of a short circuit; and wherever there are live metal parts care should be taken to insulate them, as it is very easy to get a short circuit where all parts are exposed to steam.

Fig. 280 - An electric coffee pot.

The leads from the socket should be connected to a screw plug by a suitable length of flexible lamp cord.

Screw an ordinary 32-candle-power lamp into the water-proof socket. Cover the joint with tape and shellac to keep the steam away from it.

The coffee pot is now complete, and all that is required is to fill the pot with water and coffee, put the cover on with the lamp projecting down into the pot, and screw the plug into the handiest lamp socket.