Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion un-warping a porcelain sign

You didn't give measurements,but it looks like 6"-8" X 36"??The warp looks like about 1"-2"??That is not a flat sign from what I can see.I wouldn't try it.

I'm with Thermactor on the idea of mounting it to a frame,but I would go a little further.You might build a "shadow box"frame for it that would hide the warp when looking at it from the side and mount it as.I do a lot with wood framing around my place and it has worked for me.I've never "shadow boxed"a thermometer before,but I think it would Work.Good luck.

Wes is right on this. I've worked with a lot of metal over the years and heat is tricky thing to manipulate on metal and could have an even worse effect than what you current;y have. A reverse bend carefully done over the length is the best solution although as evidenced by the chipping along the edges from the first bend, you most likely can expect more chipping. The biggest problem with this type of bend is it isn't a flat piece of metal but a shaped piece with dimension or depth. When the metal was bent the first time, the back edge (where the porcelain chipped the most) is where the metal actually stretched and this is where it is at it's worst. Trying to straighten it would require shrinking the metal back to original length which isn't going to happen. Instead, there will be deflecting of the metal to accomodate the flattening and most likely it will be in the form of some kind of edge wave or bulging of the sides. I guess it comes down to, can you live with the bend, or how much more damage can I accept. Wish I had better advice.

I have come to the realization that I don't have much spare time anymore to fiddle around with anything. Thanks for everyones input. I just screwed it to the wall using some plastic washers at the holes. It snugged down 99% flat and only one chip came off at the top of the tube between the words "liver" and "ills". Thanks again everyone

Looks like a perfect solution!

Nice ending!

It looks great. Unfortunately, I have that type of personality that would cause me to look at it and decide to give the screw one more turn every time I looked at it. By the time I am done, it would be totally straight, but the porcelain would be all chipped.
John