Making a griddle. What material to use?

[spressomon]

Awesome. We do have some great anodizing options here in town, I'll hit them up after the holiday.

Using flat aluminum plate you could miter each corner at a 45* angle coming inward with the miter and then have a shop using a large brake bring each side up so you have a beveled edge...then have the little miter slits TIG'd...a relatively easy and affordable way to add a neat edge perimeter to your custom griddle for fat containment if necessary.

Weld on aluminum rod handles and/or feet as you wish. Then off to anodizer.

Good luck...its a neat project!

Dan

 

[Corey]

My Lodge is different than the one above, here is the model I have.
Lodge Logic Pro Grid/Iron Griddle

LPGI3 Pro Grid/Iron Griddle, Cooking Surface: 20" x 10-7/16" Depth: 7/8", Reversible

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Using flat aluminum plate you could miter each corner at a 45* angle coming inward with the miter and then have a shop using a large brake bring each side up so you have a beveled edge...then have the little miter slits TIG'd...a relatively easy and affordable way to add a neat edge perimeter to your custom griddle for fat containment if necessary.

Game on

My Lodge is different than the one above, here is the model I have.

LPGI3 Pro Grid/Iron Griddle, Cooking Surface: 20" x 10-7/16" Depth: 7/8", Reversible.

Do you have it handy? What is the actual LxWxH including handles, sides, etc.

 

[Terrainist]

Whatever direction you decide to go, please post up about what you did and how you like it! Fellow griddle users want to know... thx.

 

[Corey]

Do you have it handy? What is the actual LxWxH including handles, sides, etc.

I will try and measure it today or tomorrow Kurt.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Whatever direction you decide to go, please post up about what you did and how you like it! Fellow griddle users want to know... thx.

Absolutely, I'll update accordingly.

I will try and measure it today or tomorrow Kurt.

Thanks

 

[Corey]

Kurt, it is 20 1/8" long, and 10 1/4" wide, and 7/8" tall like they said.

 

[FlyJester]

Check this one out Kurt... http://www.webstaurantstore.com/cast-iron-portable-griddle-reversible-20-x-9-1-2/359IGD2095.html ...seems to be the right size...reversible....and a lot cheaper than that Lodge Logic thing($17 vs $80). Try checking other restaurant equipment supply companies.

...from your playbook.... http://lmgtfy.com/?q=restaurant+equipment+supply

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Kurt, it is 20 1/8" long, and 10 1/4" wide, and 7/8" tall like they said.

A bit different than 'they' no? They say the cooking surface is 20" x 10-7/16", but your saying that the overall depth is actually a bit less than they list for the cooking surface. 10-1/4" might be a tad too deep but workable. Thanks for checking, I'm hopeful that Stansport and others measure the 20 x 9.5 in a similar fashion as I can likely squeeze that one in the box.

Check this one out Kurt... http://www.webstaurantstore.com/cast-iron-portable-griddle-reversible-20-x-9-1-2/359IGD2095.html ...seems to be the right size...reversible....and a lot cheaper than that Lodge Logic thing($17 vs $80). Try checking other restaurant equipment supply companies.

Right on, great find. That looks to be the exact same unit that Stansport is selling, though they show it as just 16" wide not including the handles. That actually may play in my favor I'll have to see. Biggest perk is the $17 price tag.

...from your playbook.... http://lmgtfy.com/?q=restaurant+equipment+supply

Man after my heart
Merry Christmas buddy!

 

[Salue]

Kurt,
I had that Stansport griddle/grill and replaced it with the Lodge I posted. Maybe I had a bad mold but when I didn't use it for awhile and went through the process of re-seasoning it in the oven, I noticed that the griddle side had bubbles on it (that was the side I put upside down in the oven). Once it cooled down a little, I was able to push the bubbles back down. But, that leads me to believe they put a thin layer of cast iron(?) over another metal and it wasn't one solid piece. After that, I didn't want to use it any more. And, if you get a chance to compare the bulk/weight of that Stansport vs a similar size Lodge griddle, the Lodge is significantly heavier.
Maybe I had a bad batch but wanted to give you my experience with the Stansport.

Cheers,
Salue

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...Maybe I had a bad batch but wanted to give you my experience with the Stansport.

Cheers,
Salue

I appreciate that the insight for sure, Stansport has always been known as a 'budget' camping gear supplier so I was wondering what quality it would be. Luckily we have plenty of big Stansport dealers here in town, one of which should have one in stock that I can put my hands on before I buy.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I'm lucky to have some rocking camping equipment retailers just minutes from home, in fact the first one I went to (Sportsmans Warehouse) had just about every commercially available option I had been considering. Stansport stainless, Lodge cast iron, Coleman versions, Camp Chef in both cast iron and their mild steel professional versions, etc. The 20"x9" version I was hoping was 'actual' size was in fact not. It is 9" deep which would work but excluding the handles its only 16" wide which is borderline workable but my burners are ~10" apart, leaving them quite a bit off center and likey wasting valuable heat off the sides. The mission wasn't fruitless, I had a good chance to examine the Camp Chef griddle design and how they construct it. Barring finding another size that might work, I'm going to build one out of 3/16" or 1/4" material (mild steel).

There was some discussion about the construction of the Stansport with "heat distribution plate" , I carefully took one out of the box and snapped some pictures. I was not able to find any details on the web nor on the product box, I had to see just what they were touting. I snapped some pics with my phone:







The price is easily justified (relative to other griddles) given the manufacturing that has to go into these. They do look well made and if my needs were different I'd give it a go.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

The way I plan to build:

 

[bobDog]

1/4" mild steel plate, or stainless steel plate. Sand blasted to remove mill scale and roughen up the surface. Then season it a few times, like you would with cast iron to aide in non stick properties.

Made a huge one one just like that....but I used 220v electric stripe elements (220v. just isn't avail. on LR, etc.:sombrero for a camp lodge/cabin. 1/4" worked great.....(altho I think gas would work better and faster).:elkgrin: Sandblasting is what I did and then used a grill brick to smooth it out and oiled the hell out of it.

 

[Yudda]

If it fits....here is a USGI new surplus griddle

http://store.colemans.com/cart/griddle-aluminum-us-gi-p-950.html

Griddle, Aluminum, U.S. G.I.
$59.95
"Heavy Duty U.S. G.I. ¼ in. thick aluminum griddle is great for campfires and commercial kitchen use. Measures 21 in. x 18 in. x 3 in. overall height. Has a 1½ in. lip around the entire 359 sq. in. cooking area. 5 in. handles. Made in the U.S.A. Unused. Great condition."

hope it helps,
rob