DQ1400 with bent foot

[PacRat]

I think I know what I need to do but I like to bounce it off the experts before proceeding. I recently purchased a DQ 1400. I looked at all my normal inspection points for signs of wear and/or abuse. It looked clean and the price was right so I bought it.

Well, I didn't inspect it good enough because the frame foot is bent good enough that it won't fit in a reel seat. It looks like it may have been dropped and landed on the back of the foot. I've straightened a foot that was twisted once but that was more in the stem so it was easy to put it in a vise and give the reel body a twist.



I have 3 ideas but I'm open to advice.

1) Clamp the foot to a piece of round steel and just bend it with my hands.

2) Use the same round steel like an anvil and strike the foot with a soft faced hammer.

3) Just replace the frame. I know the 1400 is scarce but there are other models with similar sized frames. I'm wondering if a 2000 or 2001 is the same body and will fit, or are there differences.

My first inclination is to attempt to straighten the frame. I'm trying to decide which method to try first. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance
-Mike

[handi2]

It seems to me that it would easily break.

[oldmanjoe]

1) Clamp the foot to a piece of round steel and just bend it with my hands.

2) Use the same round steel like an anvil and strike the foot with a soft faced hammer.
               
A couple of hose clamps will help hold the shape as you work it.

[Midway Tommy]

I won't be of any help, Mike, because if I attempted either idea 1 or 2 the stem would break. That's the kind of luck I have with cast alloy whenever I try to adjust an imperfection in it. I'll bet Fred will have some good advice. It will probably include adding some heat, like from a heat gun, to help reduce the stiffness in the alloy. 

[foakes]

They generally break if straightened cold, Mike —-

Best way is to clamp the bare frame in a woodfaced vise, upside down.

Grabbing the bent part of the foot with flat-jawed pliers —- and using a butane torch carefully —- will allow it to assume a fairly normal straight foot shape.

Repaint, and you are good.

If not, or if you prefer —- I can send you a 1400 frame.

We have been on our Anniversary over at the Coast —- back tomorrow evening.  Been raining quite a bit over at San Simeon.

Let me know —- glad to help.

Best, Fred

[philaroman]

reshape as best you can w/ minimal stress...  not even precise enough for a reel-seat
just good enough to permanently mount on a butt section w/ multiple tip/mid-srction options

[PacRat]

Thanks for the tip on the heat. I hadn't thought of that. It'll be a day or two before I get around to it but I'll let you guys know how it goes.

-Mike

[PacRat]

Got 'er done today. Thanks for all the advice. Gave me a good excuse to fix my small torch. I used a combination of heat, prying, and tapping with a plastic hammer. My anvil was a deep socket on a 1/2" extension in the big vise. Pre-heated the frame as well as all my tools because they were icy cold. Started out with it hose-clamped with a leather pad on the good side, then squeezed it around the socket but couldn't get it ironed out as far as I wanted. Then I slid the bad foot off the socket so that I could slightly hyper-extend it a little and let it rebound. Inspected and re-heated between each stage. I still wanted it to go a little further so I turned it around and clamped by the bad foot and gave it some hyper-extending tweaks (small ones). Turned it around again and clamped by the good foot, then used a plastic hammer to tap the corners down a little. Then decided to quit before going too far. It fits in the rod clamp now with no problems. I appreciate all the advice from the Ohana.

[foakes]

Great job, Mike!

And thanks for the photos —- plus the explanation.

Best, Fred

[Midway Tommy]

Nicely done, Mike!

[Brewcrafter]

Nice job!  I learned from this and I think the one tool you used here was...patience.  - john

[mhc]

Well done Mike - straitening any cast Al can be risky.

[PacRat]

I think using heat was the key. I also heated all my tools so that they wouldn't suck the heat out of the alloy. I did a lot of small steps and re-heated everything when changing techniques. I was pretty methodical in my steps because I was concerned about overworking the metal. At one point I hose-clamped the bad end and hand tweaked with the body, and I could feel how soft the heated alloy had become. I just hope it hasn't remained soft after it cooled (it's pretty soft anyway). I'm confident with annealing and tempering iron alloys but this is new territory to me. I'm grateful for Fred's advice to use heat because I was planning to work it cold.

I have a different frame with a broken foot that I should have used to find the melting point but I didn't think of it until afterward. But the broken frame is a SouthBend and I don't know how similar the melting point would be. I guess a ballpark range would be better than a shot in the dark.

I really did my best to keep the heat localized on the foot because I did not want to soften the stem. I've seen a couple of spinners with twisted stems. I straightened those cold but there was more material there.

[foakes]

Yes, Mike —-

Heat is the only way to go on these cast aluminum frames.

Failure repair rate is about 75% to 90% when attempted "cold".

With the proper and careful application of heat (not too close, or too long) —- along with having everything set up for a gentle and positive "easing" of the distorted or bent part —- the failure rate drops to around 10% to 15%.

I have straightened plenty of these in many different brands.

If allowed to cool for 15 minutes afterwards —- it will be as strong, or stronger, than it was originally.

Exceptions would be if there is a hairline crack starting —- if that is the case, with the exception of precision aluminum welding — it isn't worth repairing.

Of course, there was not too much of a risk since I had a new frame that we discussed earlier ready, if needed.

Now you have learned a good trick and save —- and that satisfaction and knowledge is worth a lot.

Best, Fred