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??? Question for the Brain Trust???

2731 Views 15 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  tjcruiser, 
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I have a Lionel 2020 Turbin Loco that the cow catcher is bent on one side. It's bent probably a quarter inch back where it has probably hit something. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience bending them back in place. I was thinking of adding some heat but I don't know how much heat they will take before melting. Would a propane torch or mapp gas work? Don't want to ruin the thing.

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Not sure what kind of metal it is. It must not be too brittle of it would have broken off instead of bending whenever the mishap happened. I am more concerned in melting the thing trying to get it hot enough. But I am thinking that a propane torch dosen't get hot enough to melt metal. Upon further testing, it's not ferrous metal. Won't stick to a magnet. So I'm not sure it won't melt after all.

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I have a heat gun that really puts out the heat. I was thinking of using that as I am sure it won't melt the metal. If I heat it as hot as the heat gun will get it, I should be able to tell if it's going to bend back by applying a gentle amount of force. I might be able to save the original paint this way too. I will give that a try later and see.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll let you know how it turns out. If you hear an awful roar coming from the mid-west you'll know it went bad.:mad:
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:)
Boston&Maine said:
I have a funny feeling that you are going to crack the piece no matter how careful you are :(... Please, feel free to prove me wrong though :thumbsup:
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Well I did it.:confused:

Went with the old heat gun. Heated it up as much as it would heat. Took a pair of large pliers and gently applied a little pressure. And you guessed it. Snap!

NOT!!!

It moved just fine! You can't tell it was ever bent. The heat gun did blister the paint a little. It would have been fine if left alone since the cow catcher has caught a few cows in the past and wasn't pristine to begin with. But I had some paint and touched it up. When it dries good I'll ding it up a little so it blends in with the condition of the rest of the locomotive.

I have another engine, a much newer one, with cow catcher problems too. It was completely snapped off when I got it. Fortunately, I got the piece and with the wonders of J B Weld was able to re-attach it. That cow catcher was as brittle as egg shells. The two screw holes that attach it to the shell were both broken out and I am re-making them with JB.

Anyways, Thanks to all who offered their opinions. I took them all and came up with a plan that worked out very well!!

Bill:)
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