Used Cast Iron
Where do you find used cast iron?
In lieu of the recent post on why do we read and not post, I thought I would give it a shot. I don't know a ton about saws, but know cast iron. And yes, until 2 years ago, I thought that my 028 that my father had given me b/c it had a bad crank in it was all the saw I would ever need!
Woodbooga was right on where to find them. Estate Sales/ Auctions are the best I have found. Of course my 88 year old Grandmother has given me several old pieces and they are just better. They are much thinner, lighter and more handy.
By the way, she still sits on her backporch in downtown Nashville and makes lye soap within sight of Vanderbilt University. She has lived there for 70 years after moving from our family farm so my Grandfather could be closer to his work at the railroad. Even now, when she comes down to the home place, she uses the outhouse that has stood for over 100 years. She says 150 yards is just too far to my parents home. If I can be like her in 50 years, I will be very happy.
I live about 10 minutes from the Lodge Factory and they have a factory store that sells seconds and first runs. I do not know if they would ship or not. There are a few other factory stores- one I know is in Sevierville close to Gatlinburg. It would probably be cost prohibitive to ship, but the price of the seconds is MUCH, MUCH Less.
Seasoning is easy. Coat with oil and cook in the oven till it stinks up your whole house! My wife used to forget about the soap/water No-No until she got tired of smelling the oil cook off in the oven.
As a side note: The reason the older cast iron was much thinner is not because of use (although some of it is), it is because they were finished by hand. At the Lodge plant, they have a huge tumbler that they throw all of the pieces in to remove the excess casting material. The pots have to be thicker to withstand this abuse.