July All Topic
One of the highlights was getting gas in New Mexico for $3.09.......came back and got it at costco for $3.47
Steve - not sure if this is against policy or not but figured you'd catch it if it was....

They are definitely coming back.....a while back in the food thread I posted a 17" pan we got from the Bass Pro Shop...it was like $50 though. Not sure if there are other places that have them cheaper, but they had a good selection of things.
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
'Griswold and Wagner are good, but look for items that are SMOOTH inside; alot of the newer Lodge stuff is so doggone rough I don't know how it could ever be seasoned. I got a 9" skillet at a local place for $5 that doesn't have any name on it, but it seems old, and the inside is nice and smooth. It's already seasoned pretty well, but I'll add more.'
'Anything that is smooth on the inside and has a decent looking botttom, and heft to it. A heat ring is nice too. Older Lodge stuff can be marked Lodge or just have a big Number on it. Griswold and Wagner and good brands, I have both, but to me, my others work just as well and seasoned just as easily. I have one pan that is a Canadian made pan, and I love it. '
'I have been collecting and using cast iron for a long time now. I say any thing made in the USA works well. It can all be seasoned and smoothed. I have broken most of the rules the put on cast iron. I have sanded Lodge down smooth and the seasoned it and it works very well (a $5 action skillet). I have 1890s up through today stuff. Older stuff does seem to do better. Warped stuff does not work as well as flat for even heat. There are 1000 ways to season the things that all work. I like bacon the best. Fry bacon in the skillet, eat your bacon while the skillet cools with the grease still in it, when cool enough to safely handle take a paper towel and rub that bacon grease all over the skillet. Repeat process as many times as it takes to get things to not stick. Note I did not say wash it any where in there. I have used all kinds of grease and oil to season them. I would not recommend spray type oils like PAM.'
'So, get what ever you can find and try different ways to make it work. All the things said above are good guide lines, but all rules will have exceptions. Like my USA rule, I heard there is some French company that has the best cast iron in the world. I hear it is pricey too.'
'Rather than start a new cast iron thread, I'll just add to this one. Since we became grandparents, our camping is shifting from mostly bare bones motorcycle camping to more and more truck camping using either a tent or our old canned ham camper. That's what led me to this website, acquiring a larger camp stove and lantern(s)(s)(s)... It also got us thinking about cast iron cookware since we weren't limited to our minimal cook set. My wife remembered her grandmothers old skillets were out in her Mom's pole barn in storage. There were two #8 skillets, one was a Griswold and the other was only marked USA and had a heat ring. Both have nice smooth cooking surfaces and fortunately had been stored wrapped up in brown grocery sacks in a box. There was enough seasoning on them to prevent rust and they actually looked pretty good. They were last used around 20 years ago.
There was also a bean pot. I'll call it a bean pot since it has a domed lid. The lid fits both skillets as well as the pot. Cool! I love multi purpose equipment. Someone had used the bean pot over a fire and not cleaned it very well. It was crusty and rusty with a greasy film on the outside from the fire. More on the clean up later.
I really wanted a griddle for pancakes and I found an old one recently at a flea market. It's a simple no name 20x10 inch #8 griddle with a lip and rounded ends. My wife says it looks like the one her great uncle in West Virginia still uses on his wood fired kitchen stove. A few days later at another flea market, I found a round single burner Wagner griddle I couldn't pass up for $15 so I got it too along with a #6 Griswold skillet that was real clean and had a glassy smooth cook surface, also $15.
The long griddle and bean pot needed some serious clean up so I decided to bake off the crud in the self cleaning oven and start seasoning from scratch. At the end of the bake off, all the old crud had turned to ash but I was was surprised at how much both pieces had flash rusted. I took off all the rust I could with steel wool then I scrubbed them with vinegar till the orange was gone and then with soap and water. Back into the warm oven to dry thoroughly then the first thin coat of canola oil and bake for an hour at 400 degrees. They're looking good and I'll repeat the seasoning process one more time before we start using them. Reading all the cooking threads here is giving me the itch!!! Can't wait to do some cast iron cooking and I promise I won't abuse them the way we did when we were kids. I know for sure we used dish soap and didn't oil it as often as we should have.'
'Griswold and Wagner are good, but look for items that are SMOOTH inside; alot of the newer Lodge stuff is so doggone rough I don't know how it could ever be seasoned. I got a 9" skillet at a local place for $5 that doesn't have any name on it, but it seems old, and the inside is nice and smooth. It's already seasoned pretty well, but I'll add more.'
'Anything that is smooth on the inside and has a decent looking botttom, and heft to it. A heat ring is nice too. Older Lodge stuff can be marked Lodge or just have a big Number on it. Griswold and Wagner and good brands, I have both, but to me, my others work just as well and seasoned just as easily. I have one pan that is a Canadian made pan, and I love it. '
'I have been collecting and using cast iron for a long time now. I say any thing made in the USA works well. It can all be seasoned and smoothed. I have broken most of the rules the put on cast iron. I have sanded Lodge down smooth and the seasoned it and it works very well (a $5 action skillet). I have 1890s up through today stuff. Older stuff does seem to do better. Warped stuff does not work as well as flat for even heat. There are 1000 ways to season the things that all work. I like bacon the best. Fry bacon in the skillet, eat your bacon while the skillet cools with the grease still in it, when cool enough to safely handle take a paper towel and rub that bacon grease all over the skillet. Repeat process as many times as it takes to get things to not stick. Note I did not say wash it any where in there. I have used all kinds of grease and oil to season them. I would not recommend spray type oils like PAM.'
'So, get what ever you can find and try different ways to make it work. All the things said above are good guide lines, but all rules will have exceptions. Like my USA rule, I heard there is some French company that has the best cast iron in the world. I hear it is pricey too.'
'Rather than start a new cast iron thread, I'll just add to this one. Since we became grandparents, our camping is shifting from mostly bare bones motorcycle camping to more and more truck camping using either a tent or our old canned ham camper. That's what led me to this website, acquiring a larger camp stove and lantern(s)(s)(s)... It also got us thinking about cast iron cookware since we weren't limited to our minimal cook set. My wife remembered her grandmothers old skillets were out in her Mom's pole barn in storage. There were two #8 skillets, one was a Griswold and the other was only marked USA and had a heat ring. Both have nice smooth cooking surfaces and fortunately had been stored wrapped up in brown grocery sacks in a box. There was enough seasoning on them to prevent rust and they actually looked pretty good. They were last used around 20 years ago.
There was also a bean pot. I'll call it a bean pot since it has a domed lid. The lid fits both skillets as well as the pot. Cool! I love multi purpose equipment. Someone had used the bean pot over a fire and not cleaned it very well. It was crusty and rusty with a greasy film on the outside from the fire. More on the clean up later.
I really wanted a griddle for pancakes and I found an old one recently at a flea market. It's a simple no name 20x10 inch #8 griddle with a lip and rounded ends. My wife says it looks like the one her great uncle in West Virginia still uses on his wood fired kitchen stove. A few days later at another flea market, I found a round single burner Wagner griddle I couldn't pass up for $15 so I got it too along with a #6 Griswold skillet that was real clean and had a glassy smooth cook surface, also $15.
The long griddle and bean pot needed some serious clean up so I decided to bake off the crud in the self cleaning oven and start seasoning from scratch. At the end of the bake off, all the old crud had turned to ash but I was was surprised at how much both pieces had flash rusted. I took off all the rust I could with steel wool then I scrubbed them with vinegar till the orange was gone and then with soap and water. Back into the warm oven to dry thoroughly then the first thin coat of canola oil and bake for an hour at 400 degrees. They're looking good and I'll repeat the seasoning process one more time before we start using them. Reading all the cooking threads here is giving me the itch!!! Can't wait to do some cast iron cooking and I promise I won't abuse them the way we did when we were kids. I know for sure we used dish soap and didn't oil it as often as we should have.'
If it spins, it's not "burnt out"!
Are you going to rebuild it?
Pop
Well we've still got about 50,000 folks in the area without power still...most "should" have it back tomorrow...the rest...maybe Saturday...
Hope everyone is getting ready for a nice day off tomorrow to celebrate our Nation's birthday!
Have a great one!
Joe.
I would love to find some old stuff, hence the reason for my question. Ya never know unless you ask.....








I'm sure more grand kids are not to far off for us either.



