It is very easy to cut aluminum. You can use a hack saw and a little patience.

It takes a minute to do it on a table saw with a wood cutting blade or carbide blade.

Here is a plate I made from an inexpensive Teflon pan.

dcarch

DCarch, Amazing! And to think that I was proud of myself for cutting PVC pipe yesterday.

Maybe teflon inserts could be a cottage industry for someone...Lou, you there?

dcarch, I too find your pics interesting - thanks :)

A few thoughts which came to mind:

(1) curiousity - what do you use a teflon plate for? (I mean, how is it better than conventional plates? Sorry if i'm nosy ;)

(2) I don't have a hacksaw, nor proficiency, nor brawn! The only saws in my house are a cordless reciprocating saw by porter-cable, with it's original smallish wood-sawing blade. (also a porter cable drill). Also have a huge common handsaw.

btw, have you seen the T-Rex Extreme pruning blade on YouTube? What about that for cutting a pan? In any case I was wanting to get a good pruning blade to cut saplings growing wildly on my property. How does that compare, say, to 12-inch Skil & Milwaukee blades (I don't even know how long the T-Rex is..

(3) Even if I find someone who may find it challenging to try (like maybe my handyman who'll soon be doing some work for me) I don't know which teflon or SS pans are the exact dimensions of 9" aluminum pans (see below link)
EMPHASIS - for example the aluminum pans have a rim which rest perfectly on rim of crockpot. Would nine-inch Teflon pans also do the same?

(4) BTW, I tested the 9" Aluminum pan with [the 30-year-newer] Proctor Silex Model 33040 4-Quart Round Slow Cooker. Problem was, that the aluminum pan was too wide to fit inside the crock of the Proctor. Do any of you have other [newer] brands of crockpots, and do the 9" aluminum pans fit your crocks?

Here is a link that might be useful: nine inch aluminum pan

Posted by Jally:

A few thoughts which came to mind:
"(1) curiousity - what do you use a teflon plate for? (I mean, how is it better than conventional plates? Sorry if i'm nosy ;) "

Good question. Very nice to have an aluminum Teflon plate:
a. I don't have to use detergent or the dishwasher; I just do a quick rinse and wipe it clean after each use.
b. I use a gel pack to put under the plate. For hot food, 2 minutes in the microwave will keep the food hot for the entire meal. Chill the pack in the freezer can keep cold salad, dessert, sushi, etc. cold until I finish.

"(2) I don't have a hacksaw, nor proficiency, nor brawn! The only saws in my house are a cordless reciprocating saw by porter-cable, with it's original smallish wood-sawing blade. (also a porter cable drill). Also have a huge common handsaw. "

Reciprocating saw with a wood blade should be fine to cut aluminum. Use a little oil on the blade.

"btw, have you seen the T-Rex Extreme pruning blade on YouTube? What about that for cutting a pan? In any case I was wanting to get a good pruning blade to cut saplings growing wildly on my property. How does that compare, say, to 12-inch Skil & Milwaukee blades (I don't even know how long the T-Rex is.. "

IMHO, the T-Rex would not work well as a pruning saw. The blade gets dull in no time. Get a cordless chainsaw. You will be very happy with it.

"(3) Even if I find someone who may find it challenging to try (like maybe my handyman who'll soon be doing some work for me) I don't know which Teflon or SS pans are the exact dimensions of 9" aluminum pans (see below link)
EMPHASIS - for example the aluminum pans have a rim which rest perfectly on rim of crockpot. Would nine-inch Teflon pans also do the same? "

No problem. As you are cutting the pan, cut it in such a way that you have a few taps that you can bend around for resting/hanging on your pot. Here are a few photos of how I used a reciprocating saw to cut and bent the rim of a pan and made it into a bird bath.

dcarch

{{gwi:165226}}

{{gwi:165236}}

IC - and again your pics are very interesting! Reminds me a bit of when I fashioned Octopus noisemakers years ago for my sister's kids out of 2 liter plastic bottles. They could get dangerous though, like sharp click-clacks.

What would help is a demo by a middle age weak shrimp like myself who's somehow able to pull this off.

I'm not quite clear on items 3 & 4 yet (such as for example which SS or teflon pan would fit inside most four-quart crocks),
...so a pic by a non-experienced shrimp pulling this off in a way that would fit any 4-quart crockpot (new or old) would help.

P.S. who ever heard of a little old lady (me) using a chainsaw? As it is, my BIL took enough time out of his busy life to warn me against trying out the circular saw which came with the Porter set. The only ones i've tried are the reciprocating & the drill. Even these I'm a dummie at. I bought the refurb. set off Ebay for $70 cuz it came with recharger and 2 NiCads. Since the recharger wasn't working upon arrival, the seller sent me a replacement which is working. I'm so lacking in experience, I don't even know if 9" blades are better or worse than 12" for pruning, and where do i quickly find such info online? Like I already tried the woodworking forum, but still unresolved, and I also tried an online Q/A site, but still unresolved.

P.S. on a tangent, it looks like your flatware is a thick gauge, with a not-so-rounded tablespoon.

I personally prefer the below type of cheap tablespoon
(2nd from right), since:

(1) it scrapes out iceCream/Other dish most efficiently
(2) when eating a melon, it conveniently slices into it
(3) the rounded vs. pointed i find structurally better

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap TB is more practical than others

CdL turned us onto ice cream spoons. Now my kids won't eat pudding cups and ice cream without them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spoons

I don't have anything to suggest but I am interested in how often you use the pan and for what types of things. Your crockpot looks identical to the one I threw out after converting to Nesco. Low was always too low and high boiled everything. Got tired of having to constantly run and turn it up and down.

Your idea is really interesting!

mustang, what about #2 of my 3 points?
Also, have your kids compared my spoon to your ice-cream spoon for all 3 purposes mentioned above?
That's the acid test.

cynic, I use my crock pot a few times a month and sometimes like to keep the solids (poultry etc.) separate from the soup, which is when I attach the depicted pan. I love the crockpot. I inherited it from my mom, and it's still going strong since the 1970's. I think it was made in Japan. The temps are perfect.

Check out the below link, which probably most closely mimics my vintage crockpot.

Which Nesco do you own? I'm sure it must be very good if you like it so much - more power to you!

Here is a link that might be useful: original slow cooker (walmart) 14.99

jally - why not use a Crock Pot Meat rack. You can still buy them. Here is a link. Also check ebay.
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: Crock Pot Meat Rack

well, it's not the same as what i had in mind (see the above link to the thread where i posted my pic.

Actually, if you are cooking inside of a crockpot, I am not sure non-stick is very important.

You can get half-round aluminum pans of different sizes which can fit inside your crockpot. All you have to do is to use a pop-rivet tool to fasten a few clips to hang the pans on your crockpot. It should not take more than 15 minutes of work.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Half round pan

Interesting - which types of chain stores would carry such items, and how would I be able to tell how compatible they are with my pot? (I take buses to my shopping centers, and the crock would be heavy to lug around.

Also I don't own a pop rivet tool, and I can't visualize the type of clip, nor how that could get the pan to hang on crockpot.

But as I said, that half pan is still interesting - thanks for the link!

Maybe there's some sort of stand on which to support a pan within a pot, suspended on legs, or whatever..