Maybe a BSR DO?

[Charles Marchand]

Hi everyone,
I picked this up a couple years ago and just got around to cleaning it.
I believe the lid is BSR but am unsure of the bottom?
The inside has grooves in a circular pattern. 
Has anyone ever seen this?  What would it be for?
A coworker would like to buy it but I am not sure of a fare price.

Thanks for your help.

[Charles Marchand]

Here is the inside image.

[Dwayne Henson]

It's BS&R, not sure why the series of grooves on the Bottom.  The 12 is their largest DO, not sure on value, you might check ebay in completed auctions to get an idea of value, I sold one for $60 a few years ago, but CI is hot right now.

[Susan Salsburg]

A skillet lid on a DO? I'm confused. Sue

[Russell Ware]

My Lodge Wildlife series mallard fish fryer (that's a mouthful) has 2 of those marks on the inside bottom. They don't photograph well. Perhaps yours is a Lodge made BSR or they used the same process as Lodge.

[Russell Ware]

A skillet lid on a DO? I'm confused. Sue

BSR states in some of their older catalogs that "Sizes No.6 through 12(skillets) can be used in connection with Dutch Oven Covers of corresponding sizes." ie. They only made one lid style to fit any given size. It was more cost effective.

[Keith Rumgay]

I my be wrong but most of the BSR Dutch Ovens I have seen & had there was 1 pour spout Like I said I my be wrong :-/

[Charles Marchand]

Thanks everyone. 

I do seem to be gravitating to collecting BS&R.
I really like that DO but I have a Lodge about the same size that my mother in law gave me.  If I had bought the Lodge I would keep the BS&R and sell the Lodge.

[Dwayne Henson]

BSR was a smart and frugal foundry. Their DOs had a pouring spout. They used the same lids for their skillets and their DO. So very smart, less patterns, less inventory.

[Jeff Parsons]

A skillet lid on a DO? I'm confused. Sue

The sealing ring matches the DO; lips, the skillets.

[Jeff Parsons]

Same grooves in my 3060 deep fryer. I've only noticed this in Century Series, after automation.

[Charles Marchand]

I just finished cleaning one of the small sauce pots made by Lodge for a co-worker and it had 3 grove circles in the bottom.

was the automation when Lodge took over production?

[Cheryl Watson]

Circles on the inside of this one too......

[Robert Hynes]

Same grooves in my 3060 deep fryer. I've only noticed this in Century Series, after automation.

That would make sense.

Back in my plastics engineering days, we injection molded a wide variety of items using different materials. May be a shot in the dark, but those circular patterns look like air vents. Not saying these were molded in that fashion but it suggests that an iron (or similar) mold was used, not sand... But, of course I could be way off base and out to lunch.

Look familiar?

[Dwayne Henson]

You might be onto something Robert with the vent idea, as these are both larger items. Cast iron is however cast into sands molds.

[Robert Hynes]

So core vents are used in sand casting as well, interesting reading up on how stuff is made.

My father was a foundry man for 20 years, never really took any interest back then, wish I had now...

[Cheryl Watson]

I can envision those vents being used/inserted in the sand mold....

[Robert Hynes]

I can envision those vents being used/inserted in the sand mold....

It's the placement of the vents that has me scratching the noggin. Air, like electricity will take the path of least resistance and in designing injection plastics molds for example, there's generally a single point of entry into the mold - the vents were placed at the outer extremities so the air in the mold could be pushed out by the molten plastic entering the mold.

I would assume the pieces would be molded upside down, and air should be pushed out to the handles in theory. Could it be a single or double sprue cast? Double sprue would make a little more sense.