FT: Frame (Twin) Straightening Footrest Hangers

eharris

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Hello all,

I need to straighten a footrest hanger and realise that to do so I'll need to apply some heat.

I presume my butane blowtorch (DIY soft solder copper plumbing type) won't be able to get it hot enough (or will it? I don't know, which is why I'm asking here!), so should I use MAPP gas, or go and find someone with a big blowtorch?

Cheers,

Ed.
 

Bill Thomas

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
There are newer Butane torches now , That get very hot, Why not get 2 , But you may need a friend, I think to hold one, machinemart.co.uk Good Luck, Bill.
 

Simon Dinsdale

VOC Machine Registrar
VOC Member
VOC Forum Moderator
Ed
You need to get the footrest hanger hot enough to get it glowing red but just in the area you want to bend. If you use too large a torch / flame and get too much of the hanger glowing red you will have difficulty bending it in the required place as it can move anywhere the metal is hot enough.
 

Simon Dinsdale

VOC Machine Registrar
VOC Member
VOC Forum Moderator
Oxy-acetylene will do the job but not that many people have access to it due to regulations etc. You can now get oxy-propane kits which can be used for DIY and will not get as hot as acetylene but you can braze with them and get steel red hot to bend etc.
 

eharris

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Thanks for that.

I've got some butane/propane mix canisters, and more than one blow torch, so perhaps I'll give it a go.

Given the cost of new hangers it's worth a little of my time to try to sort it out.

It'll amuse the kids at any rate!
 

eharris

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Success!

That went surprisingly well.

I used two normal cheap DIY blow torches, with butane/propane mix canisters (the fuel may not be relevant), and got the thinnest part of the hanger up to a good red glow.

Initially I tried heating it outside the garage and then bringing it in, but it cooled too much, so I ended up keeping it in the vice in the garage.

Heating it with both torches and when it was red putting one torch down, picking up the lever I had selected, whilst still using the other torch to slow the cooling and applying some force. It was quite odd to feel it moving like very thick toffee under the effort of the lever.


Your mileage may vary and please don't repeat this without thinking through all the possible outcomes of blow torches and red hot metal!
 
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