Not sure if this post is for metal shop or blacksmithing.
I have an old Wagner? Cast iron skillet that needs repair. I’ll drop some pics but it’s cracked around the handle support down into the wall and near the base.
Can it be fixed, Is there anyone who does this (paid)? I for sure don’t have the skills.
Thanks;
Clay
You cannot blacksmith cast iron. I don’t know if it welds too well either.
My recommendation is to buy another skillet.
Well that was my thought too, but it has some sentimental value to the family.
All my old folks say buy a new one.
Any way I can think of welding it back together solidly wouldn’t be food-safe afterwards.
We have some old Wagner pieces that belonged to our parents, so I get it.
Sounds like it needs to be hung on the kitchen wall and a new one procured. It’s really nice stuff to cook with (much smoother than normal cast iron).
I would suggest preserving it as a wall hanger. Drill the end of the crack, to remove the stress riser. V groove the crack, use JB weld as a body filler, and then paint to match.
I agree with Keith Rucker that at least 9 out of 10 times the right fix for cast iron is brazing, and I wouldn’t use it for cooking after brazing. So if no particular need for it to handle heat going forward, then an epoxy based fix to make it a wall hanger would seem to be the most expedient fix.
That’s what I was talking about with probably not being foodsafe afterwards. Trace amounts of nickel are generally okay in food, but that rod is 99% nickel and will be sitting on the food cooking surface. Would it kill you the first time you cook with it? probably not. Would I eat something I knew was cooked in it? also no.
With that said I’d love to have some more practice with cast iron repair, it always fascinates me and I’d be happy to do the work on it if you want to go that route and need help with the TIG welding part.
You ingest Nickle on a regular basis, it’s a common trace element in many things. The Amount you would receive from a weld on a skillet is very small and well below anything nearing toxic levels.
https://sites.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/more-metals/nickel-hidden-in-plain-sight/the-facts-on-nickel/
Drilling the end of the crack to relieve the stress riser, grinding gently to open the crack, preheating the cast iron, and brazing the crack is the recommended approach on the cast iron cooking FB groups I belong to.
I bought some of this TIG rod. It’s specialized to not need pre-heat/post heat that is typically done in successful cast repair. However I would not use the skillet afterwards.
You would have to have that area blasted to clean it down to bare iron , that alone would
ruin the patina , basically would have to
Blast all of it and start over with the seasoning
after the repair.
Heres a demo using a cast iron welding rod
But by the time its fixed you will have 100s $$
invested.
Unfortunately, stop drill it , fill it and paint as said
in an above post is probably the best choice.
Its wall art now 
