Dutch Oven Cover

[copdills]

awhile back I saw a picture of a dutch oven that someone was smelting lead with they drilled a hole in the cover for the thermometer to go through so they could check the temp , has anyone else done this and does it work well

thanks copdills

[jsizemore]

I use the sheetmetal from a hot water heater for my wind shield and the top "cap" for a cover. I stick my thermometer through one of the holes to keep from having to remove the cover to check melt condition as often. It should help with a dutch oven lid.

[Old Scribe]

I collect and restore cast iron cookware. I wish people would think twice about using cast iron cookware for melting lead.
Someone later down the road might use it for cooking and be subject to lead poisoning.
There are plenty other and safer ways to melt lead!

[DerekP Houston]

I collect and restore cast iron cookware. I wish people would think twice about using cast iron cookware for melting lead.
Someone later down the road might use it for cooking and be subject to lead poisoning.
There are plenty other and safer ways to melt lead!

Lmao same here, I was dreading telling someone not to ruin a cast iron lid by drilling it! I just use a cookie sheet on top of my melting pot. I don't bother trying to keep my melting to a particular temperature as I don't collect wheel weights, skim flux, skim flux, pour into ingots.

Of course, if this is new lodge cast iron, feel free to ruin that carp. Griswold, wagner, and others are worth way more than a lead melting pot.

[Yodogsandman]

I hate it when people use a good cast iron dutch oven for food....what a waste!

[copdills]

good old lead potatoes yummmmmmm lol

[Walter Laich]

talk about a heavy meal

[mdi]

I've had no reason to check the temperature of my smelting lead. As long as it melts and cleans up easily, I'm good...

[imashooter2]

No one is going to be collecting raggedy old Chi-com Harbor Freight Dutch ovens.

[DerekP Houston]

No one is going to be collecting raggedy old Chi-com Harbor Freight Dutch ovens.

Better safe than sorry! I'm a big fan of collecting antique cast iron, ruin all the harbor freight and current lodge stuff you want =). Much like a lot of products these days, they just aren't the same as the original all american antiques.

[DougGuy]

There ain't NOTHING wrong with current Lodge stuff. They just don't make the inside smooth like antique stuff. I wish they would open a custom shop that did offer machined finish!

But yeah please don't use cast iron cookware to smelt in, even if it's Asian, it is so easy to get a propane tank cut in half and nobody's gonna cook in one of those.

[DerekP Houston]

There ain't NOTHING wrong with current Lodge stuff. They just don't make the inside smooth like antique stuff. I wish they would open a custom shop that did offer machined finish!

But yeah please don't use cast iron cookware to smelt in, even if it's Asian, it is so easy to get a propane tank cut in half and nobody's gonna cook in one of those.

That rough pitted surface just ain't the same to me compared to the original glass smooth castiron I collect. If you really want to you can sand it out yourself, but they changed the production to a cheaper method and IMHO it is just not as good. Piquaware, Griswold, Wagner, or old style lodge were all machined smooth as glass and are higher quality imho. It is fine if all you want to use it for is a chicken fryer, but I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to my kitchen tools. No matter how many times you use that new lodge skillet it will never get as slick as the originals, unless you bust out the sander and fix it yourself.

[fiberoptik]

Saw a Griswold set today at thrift store. Had a tall chicken fryer with a fry pan lid. $99!!! Out of my league!


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