Hello from Arkansas!

[JH Jones]

Hey everyone! I'm J., and although I love cooking, I have almost no experience with using cast iron.

My mother gave me her #8 chicken fryer and lid recently, and I had no idea how to care for it. In researching, I ended up here, and I'm glad I did--there's a wealth of information on the site and forums.

I'm stripping my fryer with lye oven cleaner right now, and I didn't think to take any before pictures. It has a ring with notches at 9/12/3 and a largeish 8 under the 12 o'clock notch.

After reading the 'Identifying No-Name Iron' page on this site I wonder if I might have a Lodge fryer from the 40s, but once it's cleaned and seasoned I'll look into it in earnest.

Anyway, I'm glad to be here. I have a lot to learn!

---------- Post added at 07:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:50 PM ----------

EDIT: I went out to give her a little scrub and some more oven cleaner, and remembered to take some pictures. Here she is.

 

[JH Jones]

Almost a week later and my pan is still in that oven cleaner. I was planning to get it clean and give it a base layer of seasoning a couple days ago but ended up not being able to.

Today's the day, though, or possibly tomorrow morning. I'm going to give it a thorough rinse, then a brief vinegar/water bath and scrub, a good drying, and then a bit of Crisco and into the oven.

 

[Kyle S.]

Hey J,
Sounds like you are correct on the lodge identification and that you are well on you way to being addicted to cast iron restoration. Hope it goes well and welcome.
Kyle

 

[WallyF]

Welcome J.

Sounds like you were luckier than me in finding this site before being exposed to all the "stuff" on youtube.

I too am new to caring for CI. In my short short time here, I find the information about restoring and seasoning CI is amazing and its FREE! The access to sooooo much experience and knowledge (for free) is unbelievable.

From the perspective of a "rookie", I suggest you consider using a lye bath for stripping. Think it is a lot easier and less messy than oven cleaner and you can reuse it a lot. Doug provides very detailed instructions about this and I'm sure many other members will agree it is very effective removing "crude". Rust is another matter also addressed in the write-up.