Warped cast iron is usually done for.

Probably not. At least not in a way that gets it truly flat again without risking a crack.

Cast iron is brittle, not ductile. That means it doesn’t bend — it snaps. When a pan warps from thermal shock (like running cold water on a hot pan), the metal has permanently changed shape. The common DIY tricks — heating it up and smacking it with a hammer, or putting it on a flat surface and stepping on it while hot — tend to either do nothing or crack the pan. I’ve seen people try the “heat and clamp” method with a C-clamp and a steel plate. The success rate is low, and you’re rolling the dice on whether the pan survives.

Your best bet is to accept the wobble. Use the pan on a burner that’s slightly smaller than the warp — sometimes the low spot doesn’t matter if the burner is small. Or use it in the oven for bread, pizza, roasting. If it rocks badly and you rely on stovetop searing, just buy a new Lodge. They’re $25 and flat. The old one becomes a bean pot or a doorstop.

Don’t sink hours into fixing a $30 pan. Your time is worth more.