Woodland Scenics Chain Link Fence Straightening Query

Back in the fall I purchased two packages of WS chain link fence and all the sections were nice and straight. I would certainly return them for undamaged ones. The fence is quite nice, but I think you will need them straight.

Mine were straight, too, directly from the seller, so I'd return them rather than risk damaging them by trying to straighten.

@Richie C. posted:

Mine were straight, too, directly from the seller, so I'd return them rather than risk damaging them by trying to straighten.

I concur -- definitely follow whatever instructions WS eventually gives you, and/or ask to send them back if they can't be repaired, but I suspect they can be reshaped safely if you just heat them gently with a heat gun and straighten them under a weight (or even slightly reverse-curve them) until they cool. Make sure the heat gun is on low and applied gently, though, or you may end up with a plastic puddle model instead of fencing!

I think clamping between 2 pieces of wood would straighten them out easily.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. WS has yet to call me back so I will weight them down for a few days and see what happens. I am not impressed with Woodland Scenics customer service or rather lack of.

@cubalz posted:

Thanks for the advice, everyone. WS has yet to call me back so I will weight them down for a few days and see what happens. I am not impressed with Woodland Scenics customer service or rather lack of.

Did you buy them direct from WS, or through a dealer? When I had some problems with a WS Smith Bros. TV and Appliance piece, the dealer punted to WS, and gave me a number to call that yielded pretty good results IMHO. I never inquired, but there may be a "dealer hotline" at WS that will help you skip the queue and get better service than just cold calling their help desk. Good luck!

Yeah, I think you can try some weights to slightly overbend the fence sections for a few days, and I suspect they'll straighten out just fine. If not, gentle heating might help . . .

Same with me just took delivery of 2 pkgs all are slightly bowed but mine we to line the inside of a 048 curve so it worked out. I have a couple of pieces left over and was going to cut them down to go around a pool (which is square) I was thinking about heating them with a heat gun to release the bow. Maybe I'll try tomorrow and let you know if it works.

Stephen, please let me know if heat works and how you applied it.

I'm going to give this solution a C+ it's a passing grade, but not an A+ solution.

The heat gun will flatten the fences,  but when you let them cool they will relax back. If you bend them slightly the other way when they are hot they will relax to straight-ish. My next try might be to make a curved base slightly higher in the middle maybe 3/16" lay the fence on the curve, heat it until it relaxes and let it cool relaxing back up to (hopefully) flat.

But if you heat them too much stuff starts to melt. Just be careful, a little heat goes a long way, keep the gun moving or you will burn a hole in the fence.