April 19, 201115 yr Having just modified my gear lever for a bit more clearance to the flywheel cover I thought I'd pass on a tip given to me by a welder in work. To straighten a bent lever or gear lever, it's advisable to aneal the metal before re-bending it as it may have work hardened a little. To assess to temperature whilst warming it up gently with a blow torch, rub the rear face of the metal with normal hand soap. When the soap turns black, stop heating and allow the part to cool down slowly. Worked for me!
April 19, 201115 yr Having just modified my gear lever for a bit more clearance to the flywheel cover I thought I'd pass on a tip given to me by a welder in work. To straighten a bent lever or gear lever, it's advisable to aneal the metal before re-bending it as it may have work hardened a little. To assess to temperature whilst warming it up gently with a blow torch, rub the rear face of the metal with normal hand soap. When the soap turns black, stop heating and allow the part to cool down slowly. Worked for me! Letting it cool down slow as posible is what does the anealing, as quenching will harden it! Another tip is to re aneal it after you straighten it so when you bash it it should just bend instead of snapping off. I do this with brake & clutch levers
April 25, 201115 yr Author Letting it cool down slow as posible is what does the anealing, as quenching will harden it! Another tip is to re aneal it after you straighten it so when you bash it it should just bend instead of snapping off. I do this with brake & clutch levers \yep 100% on the slow cool down (I'm an ex tool maker!) the soap lets you heat the ally to its critical point and not risk over heating it. Good call on the re-annealing
May 14, 201115 yr Letting it cool down slow as posible is what does the anealing, as quenching will harden it! Another tip is to re aneal it after you straighten it so when you bash it it should just bend instead of snapping off. I do this with brake & clutch levers That's true for steel...not so with alum. Get it to temp and quench...it'll be annealed. The soap trick works great...I use a bar of Ivory. You can also use acetylene. Turn on the acet only and coat the part with soot. Then bring in the oxy and heat until the soot flakes off...then quench. Done it a million times. Also..."slow"... as in cool-down...is a relative term. Letting a small piece of aluminum sit after being heated is a pretty fast cool-down. When blacksmiths want to anneal, they do it at the end of the day...heat it, set it on top of the fire, put ashes on top, and let it cool over the course of hours while the fire cools. Edited May 18, 201115 yr by charliechitlins
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