my new article on cast iron is up!

We didn't know it, either, but hey! It was already broken, so how could welding make it worse?

Actually, though, it was very hot. You have to heat the iron first, before you apply the weld. Tres kewl!

If you go to http://www.goodtimestove.com, you can see the proprietor welding a stove he's restoring. Interesting stuff.

Pony!

Cool.

I weld a little with a MIG wire-feed machine. I had looked at cast-iron repairs once before and what I found was that it is very difficult. They were saying that it needed to be brazed and not welded. But then again technology does march on and better.
I am glad to see that it can be done now.

I am also glad that I do not have any cracked cast iron in need of repair.

I have grown up using cast iron. We have always washed it with soapy water, rince towel dry and then heat on stove to finish drying. Once in awhile one needed reseasoning, but not often.
I want to share another plus for cast iron. My mother was a nutrition aide with the Extention office here in Oklahoma. They had a class on cast iron. Did you know that very few people suffered anemia until the use of cast iron was no longer popular. Yep, you get iron in your diet by cooking in cast iron and it tastes much better than the little iron pills.

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Don't join a battle of wits if you are unarmed!

I think it's a lovely article, and I really like your site! Your article on lawn care has me phoning around the area, trying to find Ringer Lawn Restore.

Pony!

I've always been around cast iron and but never used it much until I got married. My MIL had left a skillet behind and I fell in love with it. I have several pieces including a few pieces that belonged to my great grandmother. I've found skillets at yard sales for $1 and at antique stores for $5 and up. Some of my finds were very rusty and took alot of elbow grease to get the back in shape but well worth it.

As for the article, I found it helpful, informative and very detailed. Good job!

Maggie

Great article and nice to know. Showing my age and ignorance first set I had was a "wally world" special and I asked at the counter how to clean it. Don't cringe to much when I say he said light soap in the dishwasher. That set is still in the garage and I may try to clean it up (it looks kinda like a red paint, LOL) now that theres some information. At the time I bought it camped for a week and washed it all in ten days without asking any advice (at least REAL), live and learn.

Very cool, Pony! One of these years we'll get the addition built that will house my wood cook stove (spinning wheels/looms) :sigh:

As for the lye solution Meloc was asking about - woodash lye soap would not contain any lye (after combined with the grease, a *miracle* occurs and you have salt/soap). Making a weak lye solution (try 10% lye to 90% water) to soak your cast iron.

eta: please wear eye protection & gloves when working with the lye solution

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the woodash lye soap i was using was from my very first attempt at soapmaking from last winter. the idea was to just use it up. and since it was my first attempt, it was a bit "bitey" so it did have extra lye beyond the soap content. my reference to using a lye solution as recommended by an old butcher friend was in regards to using sodium hydroxide, store bought lye, as a rust eliminator.

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

An old guy that used to run an antique store was the first that told me about using a lye solution to clean up cast iron. I say it is worth a shot!

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Very well written article.

I have been using cast iron for several years. I got most of mine from ebay. I gave a couple pieces to my son when he moved out.

I found the easiest way to season it is to cook fried patatoes several times. They taste great out of a good cast iron skillet.

One thing I did was ordered one of those greese containers that you showed in your article. I save my bacon greese in a large mouth qt. jar. I never strained it though. I think this will be nice way to save it.

Steve

Very good! Thanks for sharing it.
I love, love my cast iron cookware. Have pieces that were gifts, that belonged to our Gramas and that I have picked up here and there.

For those who asked, the broom maker who makes the 'scrubbies" at the NYS Fair was only there for the first week, and I missed him.
But I found out his name is Walt Thomas and the business name is
ColdSprings Crafts in Baldwinsville, NY.
315-635-3478

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Hut on the Hill Farm
http://www.hutonthehill.org

I love cast iron. Every time we cook we use it. As, is stated in my thread about a wood cook stove, I have several pieces of cast iron. But, my favorite is the skillet. I have several sizes of skillets, ranging from #3's up to #10. Most or #8's. I also have the chicken fryers that are #10, and are deep with lids (cast also). I have learned a lot about buying skillets and what to look for.
1. all skillets do not have to be brand name. There are good skillets that are not.
2. When buying any skillet always look at the surface and see if it is smooth. It should feel as smooth as a babys bottom. Move your finger across the bottom of the skillet very slowly and feel for high or low places across the back also.
3. Never buy a skillet that you plan on cleaning up that is rough or rusty. It may not clean up and you will loose your money. I would not buy cast iron from ebay. You will want to feel your skillet, listen to it.
4. When you find a skillet that you like,you want to hold it in your hand, not touching something and either flip the edge with your finger or maybe a knife and it will ring like a silver bell. If it does not, it has a crack somewhere, even if you cannot see it.
5. Same brand of skillet have different thickness's of the same size. If you cannot hold a thick skillett, find one of lightweights.
6. Although my favorite skillets are name brand like Griswold and Wagner. National is a good one. Many range Mfg. would have Skillets made and given out as they might of purchased a range. Seems to be several in Alabama.
Maybe more later.

I have my cast iron skillets that I use all the time but for frying eggs, you can beat an 8" steel skillet. Treat it the same way as a cast iron skillet but they are so much better for eggs.
I was taught that by a man that owned a resturant I worked at when I was a kid.
He had had it for years just as the cast iron skillits and pots but the only thing that went in it was the eggs. Scrambled or fried and he taught me to flip them, two or three at a time like a piece of cake.
You just let them slide out of the end away from the handle and stick it back where they come down.
Wipe it out good and hang it back up.
Boy was he mad when he came in and I had one in the dish water.

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If some one has done something before,
You can also do it, if you find out how they did it

We have power tools, ancestors didn't

keep kicking the ball
it won't stop rolling

Dennis

I adore cooking with cast iron. As I always tell folks "my Mother can coon A N Y T H I N G in a cast iron pot." I usually use a bit of oil to cook with. When I am done, I always clean out the pan by getting it hot, splashing water in the hot pan to let the stuff stuck to the pan cook and float off. Then dump that out of the pan. While pan is on the heat still, let it dry, take a paper towel with a bit of cooking oil and re-season the pan while it is hot, by swirling the oil around. VOILA! Perfectly seasoned pan each time. Ready to rock und roll for the next meal.

Pat