Straighten Bent Stanchions

[Spirit28]

Want to replace my 20yo plastic coated SS wire lifelines before they break.... I happen to have a heap of the right sized wire (316 SS 1 x 19) left over from a recent house renovation.

Before I do that, there are about 3 stanchions that are bent to varying degrees either from the spin brace(guy) or bad boat handling when coming alongside (h'mmm - previous owners not me.....).

Any ideas on an easy way to straighten without having to buy new ones? Or should I take them to a workshop to be heated & straightend or maybe cut & sleeved and a new bit welded on.

The bends are really not that bad and there are no hard points - just look a bit untidy.

They are nice custom tapered ones so I want to keep the look.

Thanks

[delmarrey]

You don't want to heat them for straighting. It'll discolor them. Unless they have a polishing system. The best way to straighten them is in a press with "V" & raduis'ed blocks. EZ job with the right stuff.

Sometimes the bases will bow up. That's another job for a press.

[Sandero]

Are they bent at the base? If so how about finding a solid steel rod that fits snugly into the base and a long steel pipe that will fit over the stanchion. Put the steel rob in a vise and slip the stanchion over it up to the bend and the place the pipe over the stanchion and pull it / push it using the leverage to straighten the bend. If the stanchion is crimped at the bend this probably won't work very well. But if it is not to bad it is worth a try. no?

If that fails... maybe a metal shop can do something. Buying a new one may be the most economical in the end and you can save these for replacement if one breaks...

Jef

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Spirit28

Want to replace my 20yo plastic coated SS wire lifelines before they break.... I happen to have a heap of the right sized wire (316 SS 1 x 19) left over from a recent house renovation.

Before I do that, there are about 3 stanchions that are bent to varying degrees either from the spin brace(guy) or bad boat handling when coming alongside (h'mmm - previous owners not me.....).

Any ideas on an easy way to straighten without having to buy new ones? Or should I take them to a workshop to be heated & straightend or maybe cut & sleeved and a new bit welded on.

They are nice custom tapered ones so I want to keep the look.

Yo 28,

stainless steel work-hardens--becomes brittle and creates a failure point. So you should simply replace damaged stanchions.

best, andy