Flame Straightening Sheet Metal

The heat shrink begins at an edge or in a single spot.

Flame straightening sheet metal.

In practice an oxy acetylene flame is used to rapidly heat a well defined section of the workpiece. For a full shrink on steel the spot is heated until a dull red color is seen. Metal materials have the property of thermal expansion and contraction. The torch can now be moved along the length of the area to be straightened.

The flame straightening uses this new deformation to correct the original deformation. Body files are usually used after another age old process has been used to straighten or shrink sheetmetal. When straightening stainless steel heat it only until a deep brown color is seen on the surface. Removing deformations with an oxy acetylene flame this process is based on the physical principle that metals expand when heated and contract when cooled.

If expansion is restricted stresses build up. Upon cooling the metal contracts more than it could expand when heated and any resulting distortions can therefore be straightened out. Suitable materials include steel nickel copper brass and aluminium.