Advice On My Cracked Griddle

[annabelle]

Porthos, is he aware that he broke your griddle? I'd let him know that it was a personal item and that you'd appreciate it if he'd replace it. Then it's up to him to step up to the plate.

You can buy the silicone glue at a home improvement or a hardware store.

Edited October 23, 2013 by annabelle (log)

[Porthos]

Porthos, is he aware that he broke your griddle?

His version is that it was cracked when he went to use it so it becomes a "I said - he said" sort of thing. My wife was there but I was out of the kitchen at the time and she can't remember when he said it was cracked.The griddle had been removed from the kitchen area. He went to where is was and brought it back in. It's possible that he may have asked my wife first before getting it. My DW has some minor brain damage (for real) that affects her short-term memory and something as minor as being asked about a piece of cooking gear is precisely the kind of thing that would not sink in.

My wife are the team leaders in this kitchen. Most of what I bring I expect everyone to use. One of the things I have to do is to remember that the equipment I bring can be damaged by others (let me tell you about the chef knife with the bent -over tip that someone used as a pry-bar to open something). Since I can't definitively say "you did this" and since most of the equipment I bring is for community usage I get to grin and bear it. The timing of when the crack appeared just sucks, that's all.

[annabelle]

Well, that sucks. I think you should "donate" that griddle to the cause and reserve a new one for your own use.

Ouch! about the chef knife. I'd still be steamed. It sounds like you'd do well to get a bunch of yard sale items for the faires and call it good.

[dcarch]

3. Get high temperature silicone glue to fill the drilled hole and the crack.

Where would I buy this?

You can use regular pure silicone glue to try out. All silicone compounds can take very high temperature (450F?)

I/16th.

I would use at least 1/8" high speed drill bit. It will give you better control. 1/16" may break on you. Go very slow and use oil to lubricate. Best if you have a drill press. Best if you can use a solid carbide drill bit.

dcarch

[Porthos]

I would use at least 1/8" high speed drill bit. It will give you better control. 1/16" may break on you. Go very slow and use oil to lubricate. Best if you have a drill press. Best if you can use a solid carbide drill bit.

After drilling the 1/16" hole and not being able to convince myself that I had absolutely gone beyond the end of the crack I had already decided to drill it out to a 1/8" hole.

[Porthos]

It sounds like you'd do well to get a bunch of yard sale items for the faires and call it good.

Overall the teams we have now are very good about caring for the equipment. I don't really add much these days. I have shelves full of steamers, pasta pots, stock pots, fry pans, sauce pans, steam table pans, etc and enough plastic cambro pans and storage tubs to open a small restaurant with. And because you can never be too rich, too thin or have too many of those I picked up 3 more at a thrift store for $3 for them all.

Now if I could just find a replacement griddle at a thrift store...

[rotuts]

its really a shame when a tool you use and value is ruined for any reason.

would you consider, if appropriate , a Blog or Blog-gette of the next time you do one of these faires? the cooking part?

[annabelle]

That's really asking a lot, rotuts.

Porthos, aren't you cooking all the time and really don't have any time to sit down until the faire is over every night?

[Porthos]

Porthos, aren't you cooking all the time and really don't have any time to sit down until the faire is over every night?

At the Irwindale faire I am in the Kitchen from about 6:30 a.m. until about 2 p.m. At the Northern California Renaissance Faire I am in the Kitchen from about 7:30 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. The meal we cook is a catering-style gig - feeding actors in our group a feast on-stage for the "travelers" to see. I have thought about blogging about it in the past. It is pretty much the same menu items from day to day. Some are always seasoned or prepared the same way, others get different treatment different days.

The griddle in question in this thread is not actually used for the mid-day feast. It is used for breakfast items and sometimes dinner on Saturday nights.

[Paul Bacino]

Find a manufacturing company , of metals, and consider Stainless steel. Grill plate.

I love the one I had custon built

[Porthos]

Find a manufacturing company , of metals, and consider Stainless steel. Grill plate.

I love the one I had custon built

Please reference post 18 of this thread. Not an Option.

[MSRadell]

Hopefully that will stop further cracking. I personally would advise against filling the hole with silicone. Even though it will handle high temperatures it does give off some hazardous materials when heated. A hole that small shouldn't really be a problem anyway.

The crack may have been there all along and because the borrower used high heat it opened whereas you are using lower heat and it didn't open. It's actually quite hard to crack cast-iron once it has been tempered over a period of time which you obviously did using it as many times as you did.

[annabelle]

Re #34 (my quote function won't work)

Porthos, that's a lot of cooking for a lot of people in a condensed period of time. I recall you saying that you barely had time to take a break when you talked about the faires in the past.

I'm thinking that the griddle was broken by persons unknown, but quite likely the newbie broke it and was afraid to say anything. You're conscientious about your gear, so I doubt the crack was "already there". I hope the fix you tried works until you can score a new one.

[rotuts]

how is the griddle repair going? just being curious nosey. is it one like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LPGI3-Grid-Grill-Griddle/dp/B00008GKDQ/ref=sr_1_11/178-3822841-3826654?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1382727318&sr=1-11&keywords=lodge+cast+iron+pre-seasoned+griddle

[Porthos]

Larger: 23 1/2" x 15 1/4" and has removable handles that screw into it. The stress-relief hole is still at the 1/16" diameter. I hope to make to time today to get more done.