Author Topic: Storage of skillets  (Read 928 times)

Offline Tommy Harris

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Storage of skillets
« on: June 10, 2016, 01:06:56 PM »
We live in a mobile/modular home and with my new hobby/obsession of buying and using old Cast iron, I need to come up with a way to store my skillets without burying them in a cabinet.  I would like to build a pot rack for over the island but I'm not sure if the ceiling will support the weight of a set of skillets hanging from it.   I am toying around with the idea of hanging them on the wall, but the wife isn't a huge fan of this alternative. We do have a bit of Counter space but if we can avoid a rack taking it up, that would be best.   Any ideas? 

Also, is there any downfalls to using magnets to hang the pans?  (As long as magnet is sturdy enough to secure pan and safety isn't an issue?)

Offline C. Perry Rapier

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2016, 02:21:07 PM »
A magnet huh. Well, it would work. But I sure don't know where you would go to find such a magnet. I'm thinkin you'd have to have a magnet so strong that it would jerk your watch off your arm.

Offline Tommy Harris

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2016, 03:01:37 PM »
Quote
A magnet huh. Well, it would work. But I sure don't know where you would go to find such a magnet. I'm thinkin you'd have to have a magnet so strong that it would jerk your watch off your arm.

Haha. Funny story.  Several months ago I found a big grey chunk in the road.   Turns out it was a magnet and it found its new home on the side of our fridge.   Yesterday morning I was going to get my square skillet down from the top of the fridge and lifted the no6, two no5,  and no3 skillets out of it with my left (weak ) hand and held them out of the way while I grabbed my trusty square skillet with mah strong hand.   Well, when I went to put the round skillets back they took a detour and stuck right to that magnet and about got ripped out of my hand.   So here I am, stuck, literally with both hands full and not able to peel the round skillets off of the magnet.   I had to swing the square one back on top of the fridge so I could free up that hand to help get the round ones down.   I did.   No skillets were harmed during this fiasco.  I came up with an idea this morning though on the way into work.   Why couldn't I just hang my skillets on the wall or even better, the fridge with giant magnets?  Lol.  The wife is going to love this.   :)    ultimately, I'd love to design and build a really slick panel/wall/rack that incorporates magnets and the skillets just stick to it.   Ideally the magnets would be hidden so it has a super clean appearance to it.    Hmmm....  one of these days I'll figure it out.   

Offline Jim Glatthaar

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2016, 10:17:23 PM »
Tommy, there are some posts on the forum where people show off their creative storage methods.  I would check those out.  Using a magnet might be fine for small pieces, but for me a magnet would be Option Z and I could think of some really questionable Options R, S & T. :o :o :o

Offline JR Doffin

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2016, 01:51:19 AM »
Tommy, That magnet idea made me remember where I used to work they used what they called "rare earth magnets" in some products.  We would go down to the assembly area and get broken ones. Used them to hang wrenches, hammers and what not to the sides of machines and tool boxes. A small piece maybe 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/4 inch thick would hang a #14 skillet to the side of your fridge easy. Just be careful with them,  you can get a piece of skin caught between 2 magnets and not be able to pull them apart. When I go to auction sales I keep a small piece stuck to my key ring in my pocket to check if something is made of iron or not.  More then once I have found myself stuck to the side of something by my pocket .   :o   Get really strange looks from other people then. ::)    

Offline C. Perry Rapier

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2016, 07:44:18 AM »
Hello JR. I'm surprised that a magnet as small as you state would be powerful enough to hold a number 14 skillet up. That's pretty amazing.  :o :o :o

I'd like to find a couple magnets like that. I'm sure I could find a useful purpose for them.

Offline JR Doffin

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2016, 09:40:10 AM »
Perry, my company used a magnet inside of a stainless steel tube with a mating part with magnet on the outside of the tube. When you moved the inside magnet the outside part would follow. You could not separate them by hand.       We often would put a magnet on the inside of the tool box to hold something on the outside.   Search for Rare Earth Magnet on the "net"  The local company we bought from closed when the area around them got built up with houses. Seems when making them, in its powder form it could blow up. :-? That's what the story was. :(

Offline Adam Hoagland

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Re: Storage of skillets
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2016, 07:29:18 PM »
[size=12]Unless you're positively in love with the idea of using hidden magnets to hang all of your cast iron that you value highly, I'd back away slowly from the notion.  Here's why.  A hook may be a little unsightly, but you can tell easily by eye at a glance when you have the darned thing secured and when you don't.  If you get used to slapping a heavy large cast iron pan onto its flush and/or hidden magnet, you'll kick yourself the first time that you hang it back up in a hurry and unknowingly have it half on, half off, and then watch from across the room as it slowly slides the rest of the way off on its own and falls four feet onto the hard floor.  Especially if it is a 14.  First skillet you crack, you'll wish you had just used hooks.

Also, if you're storing skillets in stacks, it's not a bad idea to put something shock-absorbing in between each one.  Paper would be OK; I use foam sheets that U-Haul stores sell to pack your dishes for moving.  If you stack iron on iron, you can wind up wearing a shiny spot opposite the handle on the bottom surface of a skillet where it rubs against the inside of the next skillet down in the stack.  It's surprising how little effort it takes to accidentally buff a shiny spot onto a skillet this way.[/size]