How To Straighten Warped Sheet Metal

Careful observation of the effects of the heating will allow you to make adjustments to the location and the amount of heat applied to further the process.

How to straighten warped sheet metal.

Fabricators straighten metal using many methods including heat straightening. Heat straightening involves applying controlled heat to a deformed part of steel in heating and cooling cycles until the metal gradually straightens. That or cut the transom pull the sides together overlapping them mark the extra metal that needs to be cut out and reweld with 2x4 set across the top to prevent the sides from pulling in as the weld cools. This restraint creates high residual tensile stress that causes the weld to act like a stretched rubber band with the workpiece holding the ends figure 1 for this reason when the clamps that hold the workpiece are removed the base metal is allowed to move or spring.

Use a heat gun to warm the part of the aluminum you wish to straighten. The weld wants to shrink as it cools to room temperature but is restrained from doing so by the adjacent cold base metal. Heat straightening does not symmetrically straighten the metal and is a gradual process. Looking for and easy and effective method for removing oil canning in sheet metal or auto body panels.

This process works every time is very simple and wil. Body files are usually used after another age old process has been used to straighten or shrink sheetmetal.