Bent corner repair

[guitarjunkie]

Who knows the best way to straighten out a bent corner on (say) a 2265b? No damage to the faceplate other than the bend, so when straightened, it will be a regular 90 degree corner again, and should be undetectable that there was ever any damage. Help me out please

 

[rBuckner]

I wish I could! Once metal is bent, it has stretched and there's only one way to make it go back. That's with a lot of heat and hammer work, of course destroying the finish. That works on steel anyway.

 

[EchoWars]

Well, when bending the anodized layer is damaged as well. Short of stripping the panel and having it re-anodized (and the lettering put back on), an undetectable repair is not possible.

Last one I fixed, I gave to a machine shop, where they used a 20-ton press and mashed the corner between a couple of blocks of wood. A major improvement over what it was before, but it was pretty easy to see that there had been an 'issue' of some sort in that corner.

 

[tonebells]

I have used a flat piece of steel and a dead blow hammer. Makes it strait but it's never going to be perfect.

 

[guitarjunkie]

I'll settle for good, don't need perfect.

 

[Pio1980]

Padded crescent wrench jaws and slow careful technique.

 

[wlhd1610]

Best answer is Echowars'
I've tried all the rest and it still looks crazed and slightly distorted.
You only get ONE chance ,make the wrong decision and it's irreversible.

Bob

 

[TMZ2]

I had a 2238B missing the complete faceplate and was lucky enough one of our AK members "wlhd1610" Bob had one that had some damage but was better than nothing. He was so kind and gave it to me and refused anything for it. "Thanks again Bob" So this is what I did with it and that got me started on things.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....antz-faceplate-errr-heres-my-solution.584368/

 

[KutzlerTrans]

Definitely use protection on the front side, like EW did, but you may not have a punch press laying around, but you can use a big vice with two thick pieces of aluminum on each side with a thin sheet of soft wood, or thick fabric to protect the front side and clamp it down. It may help to heat it right at the bend, but other than smacking it over and over, you'll most likely always have a crease at the bend.

Tony, Now that is going the extra mile. You have taken a piece of junk and built a nice little business out of it. So now we know how you got started. That Bob guy sure is a super nice fella.

 

[ChrisMarantz]

Contact AK Member TMZ2, he makes new replacement faceplates.

 

[wlhd1610]

I'll be first in line when (and if) Tony makes 2265b faceplates!!

Bob

 

[tonebells]

Some before and after shots.

IMG_0653

IMG_0752

[url=https://flic.kr/p/GRLsru]IMG_0747[/url]

 

[catrafter]

That came out quite nice!

Tom

 

[hnash53]

Looks good! I just got a Kenwood KA 3500 that had been dropped on the front upper left corner. I used a pair of vise grips and bent it back... but as mentioned it's obvious there is/was an issue with that corner. But yours looks great... hardly noticeable at least in the photos. Well done.

 

[sunking9]

I have a Marantz 2230 with one corner of the faceplate bent. I started with the vise method. This seemed to be the least likely to further destroy the faceplate. It got half the bend out, but that was it. I tried it several times, but to no avail. I shoulda believed EchoWars.

I then went on to the big hammer method that tonebells suggested. I started with a rubber mallet, with the faceplate on wood with cloth under the faceplate. I found laying the faceplate face down and hitting the back of the faceplate had the best results. The rubber mallet got 90% of the bend out AND no damage to the faceplate.

But 90% is not fixed, so I went to my hand held sledge hammer. With the plate face down on wood with a towel between the plate and the wood, I took several medium shots at it and it moved quite a bit. It did put marks on the back of the faceplate, but nothing on the front. I kept fine tuning until it is pretty straight.

The faceplate is not perfect but way better than it was. If you stand about 3 or 4 feet from the receiver, you can't even tell it was bent.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

 

[tonebells]

Good job. Although without pictures it never happened.

Tony

 

[sunking9]

Good point. Pictures are better than the words on this stuff. I don't have any before pics, but here are the afters. Again not perfect by any means, but a whole lot better than when I started.

 

[Oerets]

Wrap it in a wood cabinet now and it will be forgotten......



Barney

 

[sunking9]

The vise is what I tried first and got 50% of the bend out. In the vise, the plate looked almost straight. When I unclamped it, the bend sprang back. After awhile, I was wasting time with the vise and went to the hammer. If I ever need to unbend a corner in the future, I would probably start with the vise again and go to the hammer if necessary.

Wood cabinet would make it look a lot better.

 

[catrafter]

I have heard that using hardwood blocks and a 3 ton press will work pretty well if you cover the face with a layer of blue painter's tape.
A repro facebplate from wldh1610 is an option for some models.

Tom