Bending brass back into place, question

[BuddyC01]

I hoping someone here may be able to help with this issue. I have an antique brass lamp my wife wants fixed. One of the feet was bent out of place. Wondering if any fabricators here could advise me if this type of brass should safely bend back without having to heat. My feeling is it got to where it is without any special treatment

Thanks

IMG_20190317_130415 by William Clark, on Flickr

 

[RPH]

If it’s solid brass then I see no problem with the bending back. It’s getting it back to original position without further damage.

 

[matt_i]

The key is to support it so it bends in the same place. This won't happen automatically. The place where it already bent is now work-hardened with slightly higher yield than the rest and you have to exceed the yield to get it to deform back.

 

[LXCam]

As matt said it's already work hardened at the twist. I know you don't want to use a flame but a good high heat gun will get it hot enough to help straighten it back and hopefully mitigate any cracking. Btw, I doubt it'll crack since it's a mild twist and not a hard bend. Still I'd heat it up. And if you do make sure that keep wet rags wrapped around the area where the wire is routed if it's inside the riser.

 

[BuddyC01]

Thank you for the suggestions. My though was to put pieces of wood along both sides and work it back in place with clamps. If I understand Matt's suggestion should I have an extra piece right at the bend to help coax it just a bit more?

 

[EdT]

If it's brass I don't think you'll have a problem. All the suggestions above seem reasonable, but I'd start off w/o heat. However, a lot of stuff that looks like that is really plated iron or steel so you may want to throw a magnet at it just so you know what you're dealing with. It's probably brass, but it won't take a second to be sure.

 

[rlitman]

If it's brass I don't think you'll have a problem. All the suggestions above seem reasonable, but I'd start off w/o heat. However, a lot of stuff that looks like that is really plated iron or steel so you may want to throw a magnet at it just so you know what you're dealing with. It's probably brass, but it won't take a second to be sure.

It sure looks like brass to me. That's a cast part, and doesn't appear to be cast iron. If it were plated cast iron, it would be doomed. It could be a plated cast white metal. If so, it will not be magnetic, and there would be a very high risk of cracking. You could scrape a spot that doesn't show to see if it's yellow metal through and through.

As for brass, brass does crack easily, but that bend doesn't appear too severe. I think that piece may be lacquered, so any heat will trash the finish and turn a small job into a huge one. Just go slow, and if you see ANY indication of surface cracking (stretch marks, etc.) STOP immediately (though by then it's usually too late).

 

[BuddyC01]

Thanks again!