Bent Stainless railing

fourreins · Post by **fourreins** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:07 am

I have some railing on the bow of the boat which has a bend in it. Any ideas on how to straighten it. Would it help to heat it up or would it mark the railing?

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:48 am

How badly bent..... it is very difficult without using special equipment, almost impossible, to make a once bent railing look like new. So think if having two small bends is better than what you have now.
How long is the rail section?
What about cutting out the bent section and replacing with new?

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:01 pm

As Ready says, straightening can be tough. Heat can help eliminate any work hardening in it, but in the end it probably will never be perfectly straight again ... You can heat it a lot (weld it eveN0 and simply buff out the discoloration - no problem.

Please post pix. This is what we do for a living.

We have 2 manual benders and an Ercolina MB42 CNC tube bender. 7/8 and 1" dies for all.

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:34 pm

In order for any metal to be bent, it must be taken past its yield point which permanently stretches the metal. It is virtually impossible to return it to its original condition due to this stretching. If you don't want to replace it, cutting out the stretched section, replacing it with a new section and welding and polishing is the next best thing in my opinion.