high dollar cast iron

[syoungs]

I bought a cheapy the other day and plan on grinding down the inside to smooth it out as it seems most of the reasonably priced new ones, including Lodge, are very gritty.

I'll be using pretty much this process. 

Thanks for posting this,  bought a 3 pack of cheap pans at Wal-Mart for 9$ the other day in clearance. I'm gonna do the same thing and keep em in the camper.

[syoungs]

Oh, and I discovered a crack in my 10" Wagner today when I went to cook dinner 

It was a dang fine pan too, best of my collection for sure.

[lokidog]

Oh, and I discovered a crack in my 10" Wagner today when I went to cook dinner 

It was a dang fine pan too, best of my collection for sure.

 

[bear hunter]

 

[lokidog]

So, I tried that method in the video on my cheapo $14 skillet.  I took photos along the way and will post them later.  I spent two hours on it and managed to cut down the high spots but there is a lot of pitting left.  I would have to take down a huge amount of iron to get rid of it and maybe thin the bottom too much.  It was nice to be able to smooth out the lip and handles though.  I started on my first oil bake this evening.

I don't think it is worth the time and effort to try to make a cheap pan into a good pan.  We'll see how my oiling does in filling in the pits. I started with the grinding head on a handheld drill, that's just insane. I mounted it in my drill press and that worked much better.  As he said, be sure to wear a dust mask. Will post pictures when I can.

I will probably just put the cash down on one of those Smitheys or something similar.

If a person had a milling machine and milled the bottom of the pan, that might be something....

[DoubleJ]

Don't spend $200 on a smithy's.  Look on Ebay.  Fine old cast iron.  Make sure it says flat bottom.  You'll get 2 or 3 good quality, OLD cast iron pans for the cost of a Smithy's if you're patient and buy good deals

[lokidog]

Don't spend $200 on a smithy's.  Look on Ebay.  Fine old cast iron.  Make sure it says flat bottom.  You'll get 2 or 3 good quality, OLD cast iron pans for the cost of a Smithy's if you're patient and buy good deals

I get where you are going with this, but no one ever puts very good photos of the inside of the pan up.  They all put close up photos of the outside... like I care what the outside looks like.      

[DoubleJ]

Don't spend $200 on a smithy's.  Look on Ebay.  Fine old cast iron.  Make sure it says flat bottom.  You'll get 2 or 3 good quality, OLD cast iron pans for the cost of a Smithy's if you're patient and buy good deals

I get where you are going with this, but no one ever puts very good photos of the inside of the pan up.  They all put close up photos of the outside... like I care what the outside looks like.      

Do you have gas or electric?

What sizes are you looking for?

I have some extras

[DoubleJ]

I have a #10 and a #9 that do not sit flat.  They will work on gas stoves.  They'll work on electric too, just not as efficiently.  I have a couple that wobble that I still use on my glass top and in my oven just fine.  But gas would be better for them.

I also have 3ea #8's that do sit flat but one could use a cleaning/re-seasoning.  one shallow wall, one normal, and one deep
All 5 go for $100 + shipping.

[DoubleJ]

I will have to verify but I think the #10 and #9 are both unmarked Wagners from the 1940's, one #8 is a Wagner 1879, the shallow #8 is Korean in origin but is flat and smooth on the inside, and the deep #8 is from wal mart.  A bit rough but well seasoned and essentially non-stick.  Will get better with use.

[lokidog]

Hey, thanks for the offer.  I have a really nice 9 (9 3/4" bottom), origin unknown and want a little bit bigger one like 11-12" across the bottom. However, both stoves I use are glass top so a rocky one isn't a project I want to get into. 

[2labs]

Don't spend $200 on a smithy's.  Look on Ebay.  Fine old cast iron.  Make sure it says flat bottom.  You'll get 2 or 3 good quality, OLD cast iron pans for the cost of a Smithy's if you're patient and buy good deals

Scored two yesterday at goodwill for 12 dollars! One is a #5 that as smooth as glass. The other is what appears to be a Crape pan. Very low profile. Fairly rough finish,so I spent about a half hour with some 80 grit sand paper. I think it's gunna be a great pan!

[DoubleJ]

Don't spend $200 on a smithy's.  Look on Ebay.  Fine old cast iron.  Make sure it says flat bottom.  You'll get 2 or 3 good quality, OLD cast iron pans for the cost of a Smithy's if you're patient and buy good deals

Scored two yesterday at goodwill for 12 dollars! One is a #5 that as smooth as glass. The other is what appears to be a Crape pan. Very low profile. Fairly rough finish,so I spent about a half hour with some 80 grit sand paper. I think it's gunna be a great pan!

I got a few of my collection from Ebay but my two favorite pans, a #8 Lodge and a #10 lodge, both made in the 1940's came from Goodwill.

[2labs]

Don't spend $200 on a smithy's.  Look on Ebay.  Fine old cast iron.  Make sure it says flat bottom.  You'll get 2 or 3 good quality, OLD cast iron pans for the cost of a Smithy's if you're patient and buy good deals

I get where you are going with this, but no one ever puts very good photos of the inside of the pan up.  They all put close up photos of the outside... like I care what the outside looks like.      

Like glass! 6 dollars at goodwill

[lokidog]

Here is a short video of my pan... new, 1/2 hour finishing increments, and after each seasoning to final.  You can see there are lots of holes that cannot be sanded out without thinning the bottom too much.  I'll fry some eggs on it in the morning.