Cast iron pans

[Ont_Excal]

Like most posting in this thread I grew up with cast iron cookware, fry pans only.
Last year I bought a new one large enough for use at the fire pit.
Inside and out it was as rough as 60 grit abrasive.
It was ok for pizza and fried steak but tore up eggs like a course grind stone.
It actually shredded paper towel to the point of making a mess.

This winter I got out the orbital sander, then moved to 7 inch sanding disc then finally to an angle grinder with a medium disk, getting more aggressive to speed up the process. Ended with the sanding disc at 120 grit.

Only working on the inside bottom as I don't care if the sides are rough and a rough handle is of benefit.
Using a straight edge showed a high spot in the center of the inside and a corresponding low spot in the center on the outside of the bottom. This suggests that they didn't leave it in the mold long enough to set. World Famous now = World Crap!!

Anyway after about an hour of careful shaping, the bottom is now as smooth as could be. Still a bit of a high spot, but it's now acceptable.
Taking my time now to give it a quality seasoned finish.
Lot's of iron left on this thing and should last my lifetime and then some.
Still using my mother's 60+ year old 10" skillet. Family treasure which I'll be sure to pass down to the next generation.