Ok, Not Cast Iron.. .but How About Some Bottom Gated Griswold Aluminum?

[D_Madden]

I think I'll make up a new category of collecting specifically for bottom gated cast aluminum... I doubt if there are too many pieces out there.

got this at a local auction a week or so ago... I didn't want to get too aggressive with the restoration as I wanted it to retain a little patina... but I ended up doing some wet sanding with 600, 1000 and 2000 and some 0000 steel wool and then aluminum polish... it had some deeper areas with gouges and dings that had black stuck in them and I just couldn't get them to clean up any other way. I think there were some pattern numbers on the bottom down there by the little 'A'... but I'm still not sure if this was a piece that was made by griswold or made by someone else 'for' griswold as the book implies.

https://imgur.com/gallery/ANBfCSP

here are some before pics... not bad, just a bit dull, oxidized looking.. oh and the inside had/has about 3/16th of an inch of built up calcium deposits... I've removed some, but still have a long way to go on that part.
https://imgur.com/gallery/JZV6MUq

[MikeC]

This is great. I had one Griswold Aluminum Dutch Oven that cleaned up so well with just mother's and some carbon off. It sold within a day.

You did some mighty fine work there!

[SeanD]

Interesting thread.......I wasnt aware of this until now, so thanks!

[D_Madden]

Originally Posted by SeanD

Interesting thread.......I wasnt aware of this until now, so thanks!

there's a lot more history to this kettle if you're interested... alcoa was called the pittsburgh reduction company prior to being named alcoa... these kettles figure rather prominently in their history. there is a video called 'unfinished rainbows' on youtube that kind of covers the early history of alcoa... seems to have been a company project to tell the company's origins. They were producing aluminum ingots and were having trouble finding buyers... so a young salesman says well what would our new material be good for and the chemist/engineer says well anything... cookware for example it could be made lighter and never rust etc... so the salesman says who makes cookware? and they tell him that griswold up around Erie makes cast iron cookware... so he goes to meet mr griswold. Mr griswolds secretary says that a tea kettle made from the new material would be great. but mr griswold isn't interested in working out the bugs of casting the new material, so the salesman says if you'll help us get started, we'll cast some samples. griswold loans him a molder and some equipment including a pattern for a kettle and sends them off. months later the salesman brings back some samples, expecting griswold to say ok, we will start making these now and buy the ingots from you.. .but instead griswold places an order for 2,000 more kettles... and they agree to make them... and only after producing the 2,000 additional kettles does griswold agree to start casting aluminum.

http://panman.com/griswold-aluminum-tea-kettle/
https://www.alcoa.com/global/en/who-we-are/history
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqO-cOdA5l8

what I find most interesting about this one is that it is bottom gated... which seems odd. aluminum being a much more forgiving metal for casting and finishing I would think this one is quite early. I'm not even sure if the griswold iron kettles from this period were still bottom gated.

[Jody M]

That's a very interesting piece of history. Thanks for sharing this information. I live right across the river from New Kensington and will have to research this a little further.

[SeanD]

I collect aluminum Wagner Ware, kinda.....I use them on occasion.....I have never seen a bottom gated piece tho......thanks for the history lesson!