Straightening Die Cast

It can be done but I don't know the technique. I had a similar situation with a 736 cab. A repaiman heated it up and somehow bent it back.

It has been covered on this forum. Try doing an advanced search here or doing a Google search.

Essentially, the key is very slow but firm pressure. In other words, the process should take days, not minutes, to complete. Heat is not necessary.

It can be done; patience and resisting the "just a little more..."; multiple small corrections rather than a big one. Heat - torch - will indeed help. 

Your pilot doesn't look too bad; the driver counterweight just looks like a file job; don't forget epoxy as an essentially permanent filler if you must have smooth. 

Thanks all, prepping some wood pieces and vice grips now 

I could be wrong but I would use a clamp and tighten a small amount at a time  instead of a vise grip, I would be concerned about a vise grip applying too much pressure all at once.

What your trying to do is usually called "cold flow" in the threads. Use cold flow as a search term

Pressure and time;  weight it and let it sit.

Others say a sharp strike with a deadblow hammer and or wood blocks is the way to go.

I've never tried  to straighten anything but an axle  

Nairb Rekab posted:

I could be wrong but I would use a clamp and tighten a small amount at a time  instead of a vise grip, I would be concerned about a vise grip applying too much pressure all at once.

This.

Don't use vise grips directly on the die cast. At the temperature it begins to move, 400-500F, vise grip jaws will imprint on the metal. Cushion the jaws with thin wood like 1/8" MDF.

Pete

I had luck on a Lionel "J" cab roof years ago.   I heated the part to be worked on with a hair dryer and after it was heated I held it on a sand bag and slowly tapped it with a small rubber hammer.  I had to re heat it several times and go slow.  When done, the paint looked nasty but the cab looked good.  I am no expert on doing this and I just applied a few moves I learned growing up in a garage business family.  I know some expert can throw in some information to your post.  The only thing I can state is heat the item and do not go at it cold.

When I was done, I beaded the body to bare metal in the glass bead machine and repainted it and it looked good.

Yes, heating is an essential part of it.  You can use a heat gun, or quality hair dryer, to do so.  Use wood softeners and apply slow, steady pressure with a proper size screw clamp.  I have used a 6 inch C clamp before with good results.  But, always, slow and steady, just like passing through a marshalling yard.

Jesse    TCA  12-68275 

I've bend several cab roofs back into shape, as well as a couple of pilots.  I used heat and constant pressure.  While I've heard that you can do it cold, I think the heat really helps the process. 

   All my work experience tells me heat should soften/ anneal the metal making it less likely to crack when worked. 

Funny how many swore on doing it cold in the past, and I see a reversal of the trend today.

Done myself, I'd be looking at adding some btu-s too 

I guess I'll go grab the wife's hairdryer and see how hot it gets. I have a heat gun but I think it's main purpose in life (aside from my shrink tubing activities) is to remove paint, and I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

So once settled on a source of heat, it sounds like the approach will be clamp carefully, then heat. Next day tighten clamp further, and apply heat...continue process until all is straight. 

I'll let you know how it worked

I don't heat it enough to damage the paint, but the paint on those old PW steamers is pretty robust as a rule. 

Go slow and do not try to do the job with one hit.  

GeoPeg posted:

I guess I'll go grab the wife's hairdryer and see how hot it gets. I have a heat gun but I think it's main purpose in life (aside from my shrink tubing activities) is to remove paint, and I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

So once settled on a source of heat, it sounds like the approach will be clamp carefully, then heat. Next day tighten clamp further, and apply heat...continue process until all is straight. 

I'll let you know how it worked

I use a heat gun rated for 800 F but I hold it about ten inches back and move it quickly back and forth trying to heat both sides if possible. It should get too hot to touch. At the minimum, "fry spit".

Pete