The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

The New Hotness

  • Cast Iron Pan Seasoning: Round 3

    After seasoning the pan after every meal for a few weeks, then not doing that for a few more weeks, its thick glaze began looking somewhat scuffed:

    Cast Iron Pan - scuffed
    Cast Iron Pan – scuffed

    You may recognize some of those scars from the previous picture:

    Wagner skillet - two weeks of use
    Wagner skillet – two weeks of use

    Perhaps the multi-layer seasoning was entirely too thick and prone to chipping; this time, I’ll try a thinner coating. Because it’s cast iron, the pan under the coating remains undamaged.

    A few hours in a bucket of sodium carbonate solution with a battery charger driving a few amps through it removed most of the glaze and a few minutes with a sponge sanding block cleaned off the rest. Applying flaxseed oil and heating it to 400 °F on a regular burner (under close supervision!) produced a nice coating:

    Cast Iron Pan - seasoned
    Cast Iron Pan – seasoned

    The single layer was way slick for veggies in the evening and handled the morning omelet with aplomb, so we’ll run with it until something interesting happens.