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food-bev Restoring A 70 Year Old Cast Iron Camp Oven.

Hotrod64

Hotrod64

Just thought i'd share some picts of my recent restoration job on a 70 year old rusted Cast Iron Camp Oven that was in desperate need of a good scrub in the Electrolysis bath.
 
 
Some before shots of the Camp Oven, as you can see, some pretty heavy rust !.
thp12.jpg

 
 
 
Set up the Electrolysis bath and hooked up the battery charger, the lid just 10 minutes in the solution and the process looks like it's working fine.
 
10mins.jpg

 
 
Below is the before and after shot of the "new" lid from a 8 hour soak in the bath then a wire brush.
 
b4andafter.jpg

 
 
Below is the before and after shot of the pot after a 18 hour soak and a wire brush.
 
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And a final Pic of the pot before, and after being de-rusted with 3 coats of seasoning. I will probably give her another 3 coats.
 
thp1.jpg
 
 
 
Well thats the easy part done, now comes the hard part of deciding what meal to cristen her with !
 
Thanks.
 
Wow! Thats amazing, very nice job saving that awesome ol' cast iron. One time my friend said "we can't have biscuits and gravy at the fishing cabin cause there is no oven". Well I bought the roll of biscuits anyway knowing there was an old camp oven just like that up there. And promptly made great biscuits and gravy the next morning using the camp oven to bake the biscuits to his surprise. 
 
:cheers:
 
 
BigB said:
Also have you ever seen the show a taste of history? so cool watching him cook using wood and like the old days 
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I love that show, and his oldschool hearth cooking  :clap:
 
Excellent job as I've collected old CI for several years. I have 8-10 old Dutch Ovens and the same amount of skillets and griddles dating back to the late 1800's. 
 
Nice work Hot rod. I've used electrolysis for restoring old hand tools with great success. Vinegar works well too for items that can be fully submerged.
 
Excellent , that should last another 70 years.
Just a South -African suggestion , do a search on " Potjiekos".
 , for your first big meal. :cheers:
 
Awesome job mate, I'd  never have thought that was possible if you hadn't posted pics. 
 
You should do an Aussie Damper to accompany your first meal in that oven. Well done, and we want to see whatever you decide to cook first.
 
 
SR. 
 
BigB said:
Also have you ever seen the show a taste of history? so cool watching him cook using wood and like the old days 
Click to expand...
 
 
Cant say I have seen it out our way yet, but it sounds like an interesting show so I be sure to keep an eye out for it.
 
what a beauty, you going to cook over a wood fire with that thing? 
 
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 Not so much the fire itself but the coals when the fire has burnt down.
Thanks.
 
hogleg said:
Wow! Thats amazing, very nice job saving that awesome ol' cast iron. One time my friend said "we can't have biscuits and gravy at the fishing cabin cause there is no oven". Well I bought the roll of biscuits anyway knowing there was an old camp oven just like that up there. And promptly made great biscuits and gravy the next morning using the camp oven to bake the biscuits to his surprise. 
 
:cheers:
 
 
 
I love that show, and his oldschool hearth cooking  :clap:
Click to expand...
 
Yup,...Once you've got the Temp control mastered you can cook anything in these bad boys, its endless.
 
Thanks
 
SavinaRed said:
Excellent job as I've collected old CI for several years. I have 8-10 old Dutch Ovens and the same amount of skillets and griddles dating back to the late 1800's. 
Click to expand...
 
Nice,......lol yep Collecting the old CI can be quite addictive...lol, I have another 2 resto jobs waiting to be done myself. A few weeks back I bought a 14" Camp Oven that had been cast in a Foundry in Glasgow Scotland dating back too 1870,...wow if only that pot could speak.... it sure would have some story's to tell !!
 
Thanks
 
Grass Snake said:
Nice work Hot rod. I've used electrolysis for restoring old hand tools with great success. Vinegar works well too for items that can be fully submerged.
Click to expand...
 
Yes mate ...I've been meaning to give the Vinegar a try out on some of the more lightly rusted pots, cant wait ! 
 
thanks
 
karoo said:
Excellent , that should last another 70 years.
Just a South -African suggestion , do a search on " Potjiekos".
 , for your first big meal. :cheers:
Click to expand...
 
Yep 70 years at least if kept seasoned well.
 
Those BIG Potjie cauldron's that have been cast in South Africa are very collectable and highly sought after out our way, they have 3 day cooking comps with them,....some awesome Bush tucker gets cooked in them.
 
Thanks
Shorerider said:
Awesome job mate, I'd  never have thought that was possible if you hadn't posted pics. 
 
You should do an Aussie Damper to accompany your first meal in that oven. Well done, and we want to see whatever you decide to cook first.
 
 
SR. 
Click to expand...
 
Oh Yerrrr  SR.... Damper for sure mate,....  so many recipes, so little time!...lol
 
Thanks mate.
 
VERY NICE!  I can appreciate since I torched my best cast iron skillet and haven't got it fully reconditioned yet. 
 
First meal---- FRIED CHICKEN!!!!  Southern style!  or WINGS!  Okay, not really a meal, but the camp ovens work so well for deep frying things!
 
Other than that....gumbo!
 
 
Have fun with it and post pics of the meal!  :) 
 
salsalady said:
VERY NICE!  I can appreciate since I torched my best cast iron skillet and haven't got it fully reconditioned yet. 
 
First meal---- FRIED CHICKEN!!!!  Southern style!  or WINGS!  Okay, not really a meal, but the camp ovens work so well for deep frying things!
 
Other than that....gumbo!
 
 
Have fun with it and post pics of the meal!  :)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks SL,
Yumm .....I'm just a easy push-over for  Fried Chook...lol !!,would love to give it a go,  ...so many recipe's,...so little time .
Good luck with the skillet.
 
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