Before cleaning...?

[Stephen Amaral]

[smiley=anyone.gif]Before cleaning a piece is there anything I should do?  What about those little areas where the casting sticks out like the sprue on a cast bullet.  Should it be ground off? By the way, what is it called? Thanks.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Stephen. Well, you are probably going to get various answers on this question. BUT, this is what I do. If I have a piece with the casting sticking out jagged, and I hope you know what I mean, and it sounds like you do, then I will work it down someway. Usually with a small file where I get very detailed, something along them lines. But nothing harsh at all. Hope that helps.  :)

[Robert Hynes]

Can you post a picture? Wondering if you're talking about gate marks?

[C. Perry Rapier]

Can you post a picture? Wondering if you're talking about gate marks?

No we are not talking about gate marks. We are talking about small protrusions of metal that stick out and are a result of the casting process, where metal is in a small area and it really should not be there. Most often something like this would be addressed at the time it was made, or if it was too bad it was throwed in the scrap heap and remelted or was bought for scrap price by the employee or maybe he just took it home and is going to pay for it the second Tuesday of next week. But thats what we are talking about. You might even call it a blob of iron that ain't supposed to be there. A very good example of this is very often found in a Wapak skillet handle, look in the eye where the two patterns come together and you will see what I am talking about. Hope that helps.  :)

[Stephen Amaral]

C. Perry you hit the nail on the head.  Thank you.

[Russell Ware]

It's like that little booger of a piece inside the largest of the 4 holes of this "Wagner" skillet. Do I file it, or leave it?
If it was sharp and jagged, I would file it. It's not, I'll think about it tomorrow.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Thank you Russell. Thats EXACTLY what I was talking about. If it bothers you do so something about it, otherwise put it off.  ;D

[James Wilson]

Thank you Russell. Thats EXACTLY what I was talking about. If it bothers you do so something about it, otherwise put it off.  ;D

I'm with Perry on this for these reasons. Those small flaws were expected to occur as a percentage of production and if the manufacturing process had allowed for time spent fully finishing these commodities then it would have been remedied on the shop floor; likely that example would or should have been chipped off by an artisan with a practiced eye and steady hands but it slipped by. So clean it up if you wish, I would use only tools from the era ie files, sandpaper.
The other consideration is hygiene. That tab will gather crud over time.
P.S when filing use a sure hand as the metal will have a tough skin that may cause the file to slide off and remove metal from elsewhere. So maybe a rotary file/Dremel is an initial option to be followed by hand filing? If you have eyesight as good as mine is an Optivisor is a welcome aid.
BTW, I thoroughly clean my cast then inspect for any defects or anomalies before considering whether to conduct any finishing work.

[Robert Hynes]

That's good information to know, thanks.

[Stephen Amaral]

All of the replies are very helpful for me, a beginner.  I am a scrimshander and I'm used to fine detailed work, but I'll proceed with caution.  Thanks again.

[Roger Muse]

Had that issue on my #8 ERIE handled griddle.
The eye of the handle was all jagged on the inside.  Looked like when it was cast the eye was closed over with a very thin layer of cast iron, and then someone took a hammer and screw driver and chipped an opening into it.  I took my little jeweler's files and spent about an hour filing off the ugly bits.  Now it looks like it should have looked when it came out of the factory.

[Cheryl Watson]

I would not touch, file or grind ANY spots on the main body of a piece... meaning, for example, on the inside surface of a skillet, or the outside or bottom of a skillet. 

There are normal and expected casting irregularities that occurred. To alter those, would, for me, devalue a piece. 
It is not possible to replicate the equipment and usage of that equipment that foundries of yesteryear used to finish their products.
The large grinding wheels, with appropriate grit, the large industrial tumblers with tumbling jacks, etc.

Stephen, if you could clarify your question a bit further, it would be helpful, as I was also interpreting that you may have been referring to old gatemarks on a piece.

There again, if a gatemark or sprue is present, it is important to preserve those in original, as cast condition in My Book... :)

What I am hearing discussed on this thread are handle areas.  I do not have any pieces that have made me feel the need to consider grinding or filing an edge or a handle eye.

So, I am one who advocates the "Leave It Alone" minimalistic philosophy.  (In most cases) regarding the original casting condition.

When it comes to restoration, Cast Iron pieces have more latitude than many other items classified as 'Antiques' within collecting communities.  It is acceptable to remove the years of crud and gunk and oxidation to preserve the piece. (There again, principle of the least... the lesser the better... to PRESERVE the condition, not alter it)