How to turn a Lodge pan into a Griswold & Erie pan for under $20:
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-in...Q4In0%3D%0D%0A
HOWEVER, make SURE you use a flap disc or other flexible tool:
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-in...isc-69604.html
And make SURE you don't use a heavy grit, and make SURE you don't dawdle when you're sanding it out. Grinders spin at around 10,000 RPM so if you hold it on the pan for more than a fraction of a second it's going to dig a divot into it. Thus the fine grit and floppy grinding surface: it minimizes that possibility. Keep it fine floppy grit and keep it in motion.
Also, angle grinders feed on human flesh. Earlier in the thread there was mention of men taking up hobbies that cause controlled bleeding.... well, grinder injuries are borderline. The kind of thing where you're putting direct pressure on it, and it doesn't hurt, and you're thinking you'll just superglue it back together, and then you look at it and yeah, maybe stitches are a good idea.
Anyway, back OT... you could do the same thing with sandpaper and a totally worn out brachialis muscle. A flexible back drill-mounted abrasive would work too, and be somewhere in between the angle grinder and hand work for speed. I personally hate grinding with a drill because a minute into it I start thinking "I'd be done by now if this was an angle grinder".
The trick is not to get it TOO fine. What I'd shoot for is to just knock down some of the high spots in the pan - scrape off the uppermost 1/32" or so. Leave some deep divots to start collecting gunk like in pacelli's link (
http://www.richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp).
I made the mistake with my everyday skillet of making it too smooth. It seasoned nicely but then there was a couple month period where the spatula took the seasoning off in flakes. It's great now, but it took as long for a smooth surface to get seasoning stuck all over, as it did for my larger Lodge pan which I didn't grind to even out completely.
ETA, of course you need to season it after grinding! It takes more effort to season bare metal... probably 3-4 sessions of seasoning in the oven before you can start using it.
Also, glad I ran into this thread! My mother stopped by this morning with a rib roast totally by surprise. Now I know what to do with it!
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