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Thrifted Griswald is contaminated with lead :(
(sh.itjust.works)
A community for cast iron cookware. Recipes, care, restoration, identification, etc.
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Cast iron can be used for melting lead to form shot and fishing weights. That’s rare now but did happen
Actually when I was a kid, one year my Dad melted metal for weighting my pinewood derby - I do wonder now what he melted and how. Not many easily obtained metals are heavy and have a low melting point
It was most likely lead. It was also used as weights for fishing lures and a ton of other stuff.
I melted metal for my kids' cars. It isn't hard to find a low melting point allow that is safe as well (well as safe as a low melting temperature alloy can be...)
It could've been pewter. You can melt that in a pan on the stovetop. 170-230°C is all it takes and your typical electric stovetop can get up to 800-900°C.
Pewter contains Antimony, which is still toxic. It used to be made into cups to induce vomiting.
I see a reference to lead being removed from pewter “in the 1970s”, and yes, I’m old enough that lead is still in question