# 20" Cast Iron Skillet



## woodcutter (Jul 31, 2015)

Last June I saw a this pan on CL in Green Bay. I'm 90 miles away but my sister lived close so she looked at it for me. The seller wanted $50 in his ad but he didn't say it had a repair done to it. My sister thought it looked like it was braised in his dark garage. I wanted it for cooking over the fire pit so the repair didn't bother me. I offered $30 and he accepted. I had carpal tunnel surgery to both of my hands in June so I couldn't lift the pan. When my sister brought the pan over, she put it in my gas grill for me. 













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Before cleaning













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This is what happened to the repair after burning the seasoning off. It must have been Bondo or rock putty or something! Welding cast iron is way above my skill level so I took it to a local welder/machine shop. The welder had to grind a piece of cast iron to fit the missing chip. It also cracked on him so he had to repair the new crack as well. It cost $50 for the repair.













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There is a little wave to the wall but it won't hinder my use of the pan.













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I looked at myself as being a little foolish for putting $80 in a pan that is repaired. You can buy pans of this size from Cabelas for less. money. I posted this pan on a cast iron page on Facebook and found out it is a Lodge pan from the 1940s. I was told that a pan like this without a repair is worth $150-$175. Some thought I could even get my money back even with the repair because it is old quality cast iron.













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__ Jul 31, 2015






It is now repaired stripped and seasoned. The nickel weld didn't darken like the cast iron but I thinks after using it on the fire for a while will take care of that. It is very a very course casting so the cooking surface will hopefully improve with use.

This pan will be used this Saturday over the fire to make pancakes for my children and grandchildren, and hopefully some panfish for supper! The floor of the pan is 18 1/2" and it weighs 19llbs 4 oz. I can't wait!


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## sfprankster (Jul 31, 2015)

Have fun!!

Cast iron pans and dutch ovens are one of the best ways to cook.


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## foamheart (Jul 31, 2015)

Youre lucky, I have known and worked sith some fine weilders and I never knew one that would even touch cast iron. It was mostly for what happened to you, the harder they would try and fix it, the more they had to fix....LOL I had a really old deep pan with about a 10 inch crack down the side.  Lady friend finially put a flower pot in it.

Bacon eggs, and pancakes or Paella ...... Nice looking grill pan.


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## tropics (Jul 31, 2015)

Todd that repair looks great,good luck with it.

Richie


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## okie362 (Jul 31, 2015)

Stiff wire brush or sanding pad to smooth the cooking surface then re-season and it will do wonders for that pan.  I've had to do that with most cast iron I've had over the years.

 Rough = Sticks.


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## woodcutter (Jul 31, 2015)

Quote:


sfprankster said:


> Have fun!!
> 
> Cast iron pans and dutch ovens are one of the best ways to cook.


I enjoy them as well!


Foamheart said:


> Youre lucky, I have known and worked sith some fine weilders and I never knew one that would even touch cast iron. It was mostly for what happened to you, the harder they would try and fix it, the more they had to fix....LOL I had a really old deep pan with about a 10 inch crack down the side.  Lady friend finially put a flower pot in it.
> 
> Bacon eggs, and pancakes or Paella ...... Nice looking grill pan.


I learned about welding cast iron on one my tractor manifolds. You are right, when you finally get one spot fixed another problem arises. (Worse than plumbing) I won't try welding cast iron myself unless there are no other options. Never tried Paella, saw it on TV just haven't run in to it in Wisconsin.


tropics said:


> Todd that repair looks great,good luck with it.
> 
> Richie


Thanks!


Okie362 said:


> Stiff wire brush or sanding pad to smooth the cooking surface then re-season and it will do wonders for that pan.  I've had to do that with most cast iron I've had over the years.
> 
> Rough = Sticks.


I did give the floor some time with emery cloth but some of the pits are deep. I found if I preheat the pan at a lower heat and add the oil or grease right before the food most stuff doesn't stick. There isn't a doubt in my mind that I could have eggs sliding over the rough surface. This works with meat and eggs but not pancakes or potatoes. I'm a little worried about controlling the heat over the fire but that is part of the fun.


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## woodcutter (Aug 2, 2015)

I'm going to repeat this but will add hash browns to the breakfast. Rain stopped me from doing pancakes today.













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The small skillet is a #10 BSR.


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## pc farmer (Aug 2, 2015)

Nice.   That pan is huge, I thought my 17" was big.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Aug 2, 2015)

Woodcutter said:


> I'm going to repeat this but will add hash browns to the breakfast. Rain stopped me from doing pancakes today.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Looks great! Nice cook and restore on the pan!


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## foamheart (Aug 2, 2015)

ZOMG! Thats a load of breakfast sausage!

Does your grate fold flat? Nice looking cooking grate.


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## woodcutter (Aug 2, 2015)

Foamheart said:


> ZOMG! Thats a load of breakfast sausage!
> 
> Does your grate fold flat? Nice looking cooking grate.















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I bought it the other day at Menards for $26. It is 16"x 24"x9" high. It fold flat and is very sturdy. I have some expanded steel left from making my smoker racks so I'm going to make another a little bigger.


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## rabbithutch (Sep 13, 2015)

I don't mean to start anything here, but I liked the looks of the folding grill.  I just checked the website of the texas chain 'academy' and found what appears to be the same thing for $15.  It's 16 x 24 x 8.5, weighs 9 lbs.  I'm gonna look for one in our local store tomorrow.  













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__ Sep 13, 2015


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