how do you fix Cast Iron pans?

[Brad Roland]

Kind of an odd question, but a person whom I work with was cooking with his grandmas "old" skillet (approx 12" fry pan) when the cooking element shorted out on his stove and "Arc Burnt?" is that a possible word/phrase? a hole in the Cast iron Skillet he was using! Now it has a hole in it approx. 1/8-1/4" big. Is there a way to fix this or is it scrap metal for the forge?

I know next to nothing about these things only being into blacksmithing long enough to catch the disease and not really having enough time yet to research this on my own. Anyhow, any information on this would be great. I'm sure he would pay someone to fix it if it is actually fixable and feasable! Thanks for any information on this.

I work just south of Puyallup (fredrickson) in case there's a way to fix it. Thanks again.

[Grant]

Sorry Brad, think you're outta luck on this one. 'Spose you could rivet a patch on it! Not even "scrap for the forge", not much you can do with cast iron.

[Lewis]

Quick answer: You don't.

Longer answer:

Yes, it's possible for an electric arc to melt metal. That's how arc welding works and there are other processes, like gouging and etching that use an arc specifically to remove metal.

I've done quite a bit of cast iron repair with nickel welding rods (they make special ones for CI), but I don't think you'll have a lot of luck with this project.

Cast iron is quite brittle and has to be welded carefully so that the stresses from the welding don't cause it to break. Pots and pans are some of the worst stuff to try and repair. The large flat area and the rim might as well have been designed to prevent welding, it's quite a rigid form and welding on one side can cause cracks to appear on the other. It's not what you want to do as your first attempt at cast iron repair.

On the other hand, it's already broken, so you can't hurt anything by trying. If I were going to try it I'd heat the whole thing up in a 500 degree oven, zap the little hole with the nickel rod and then put it back in the oven (which is still on). After 15 minutes or so I'd switch off the oven and let the pan cool down with the oven. Take it out, knock off the scale and grind it smooth. The little shiny spot you welded won't season up quite the same as the rest of the pan, but it should be ok.

More than likely, you'll hear the horrible "ping" of cast iron cracking before you even get it back in the oven. Then you won't have to do any grinding!

[Brad Roland]

Ok, I wasn't quite sure about it as I have never worked with it, nor have I seen anyone work with it before ... guess that's why!

I'll let him know that his pan is literally fried then ... I'm not gonna bother with it myself, I just plain don't know enough about welding and I have too much going on at the moment anyhow. I guess grammas Cast Iron can now be cast into the dump ...

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it greatly!

[Tom Allyn]

Pity. There's nothing quite like vintage cast iron cookware.

[Mike B]

The book China at Work has a section about a cast iron bowl mender. The book describes him melting a small amount of cast iron in a coal forge (furnace?), transferring some to a piece of felt, pressing it into the hole in the bowl from below, and shaping it from the other side with a rolled cotton cloth.

I have to say I'm skeptical -- if nothing else, the mind boggles at the smell of a piece of wool felt with molten cast iron resting on it. But maybe there's something to it.

[Marty]

it is now scrap to turn into a forge.

[David Einhorn]

..... Now it has a hole in it approx. 1/8-1/4" big.......

I dropped an old cast iron Wagner pan and broke the handle off, then just welded the handle back on with nickle rod. I have also closed up holes about 1/2" wide with nickel rod. Before tossing it into the land fill, try a couple sticks of nickle rod.

[Ries]

I have patched a fair amount of broken cast iron with nickel rod too.
I usually tig it, using a 3/32" nickel filler. Really Really expensive rod. But it works, and doesnt require preheat and postheat- it just welds the stuff.
Of course, you dont get a color match, and I havent done frying pans- I dont know how the nickel would hold up to repeated heat cycles. But my guess is that it would work.

For non heat locations, I have done plenty of rebuilding cast iron by tig brazing with silicon bronze filler rod, too- the color match is much worse- big gold seams- but it is very strong and works well.

[Brad Roland]

wow, thanks for the replies all. I think he's going to try and "JB Weld" the hole and go with that ... lol. I will let him know to try the nickel rod though and see what he does with it.