I would also like to see a pic of the piece. I did a search and saw some really nice stuff. I do not know the value of this piece, but if it is high in value you may want to consider having someone who specializes in art pieces do the repair/restoration so as not to run the risk of doing something that would result in the piece losing value. (Yeah I watch "Antiques Road Show") LOL
jrw159 :-)
Well, here are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you do anything.
What is this really made of (is it copper, brass, plated steel, etc.)?
How is it held together (brazed, soldered,etc.)?
What is the nature of the surface (patinated, painted, enameled, something else.)?
How would a repair affect the value of the piece (probably less than the damage, but not necessarily)?
I looked on eBay, and wasn't sure if I found yours. Is it the one with the trees, park fence, and umbrellas. Some of this stuff is very pretty.
Anyway, mild steel is very tolerant of being bent back cold. If it turns out to be plated steel, it can usually be bent a few times cold before breaking. Just be careful, and don't play with it too much.
As for brass and copper, that's more of a sticky point. In an annealed state, brass and copper are very "plastic". In a hardened state, they can be as brittle as an eggshell (although if your piece bent once without breaking, it didn't start out quite that bad). Unfortunately, copper and its alloys get increasingly hard as they're "worked", so the act of bending your piece, made it more likely to break on the next bend.
Heat, can be useful here, but NOT for bending the piece hot. Just because it is softer and easier to bend when warm/hot, does not mean it is less likely to break.
Heat can be used to anneal the metal, so it is pliable once again, but at those temperatures, you risk melting any solder holding the piece together, and even possibly melting brazed joints.
Even more importantly, ANY application of heat with a torch will trash the surface finish, and leave very visible marks that a torch was used.
IF the finish is polished, then you may be able to just polish it back up again. If it had a patina, that may be irreparable. Paint (look out for clear finishes used to seal metal and prevent oxidation, such as urethane, lacquer, or acrylic), will burn almost instantly too).
If it were mine, I'd bend it back cold. The hardest part about applying heat (which would be necessary to weld/braze/solder a broken piece back together, OR to anneal the metal), is restoring the finish to where it is not visibly changed.
Interesting piece. What did you pay for it?
About $300 US -- it should be very fine once I straighten it out a bit. I am a big fan of the late Jerry Fels aka "Curtis Jere".
Don't heat it, those colors on it are the result of heat. If You heat it You will loose the colors. My guess is it will straighten OK out cold.
I agree with Dave also. Appears to have been brazen/brazed rather than welded, so if you accidentaly applied too much heat, it may come apart at the seams.
Yeah, after seeing the pic's of the piece, disregard my suggestion of having a professional do it. Just bend it back without applying heat. Wrap a rag around it and use a crescent wrench or something to bend it back.
jrw159
That's steel, cut with a torch, and bronze brazed together.
The neat coloration on the steel, comes from the heat of the torch from when it was cut. If you heat it again, you will permanently alter that coloration.
That's steel. Its very unlikely to get damaged if you try to bend it back. Just be very careful to NOT put any stress on the joints. They can be brittle, and may tear without warning.
One thing I do, to flatten pieces (it won't get you -all- the way there, but it will get you pretty close), is to put a soft block of wood on each side, and use a clamp or vice to crush it back into shape.
Forum
