[Premium-Rx] How to straighten a bent front panel on a RF-590 without causing more damage

[mikea]

On Tue, Nov 19, 2002 at 11:10:36AM -0500, Gary Mitchelson wrote:
> Well my very low use RF-590 arrived yesterday and much to my
> disappointment I found that the corner of the front panel was bent in
> :>(
> Such a shame as this unit had no cosmetic damage. It's bent in about
> 1/2" just in one corner. The paint is crinkled. It was fairly well
> packed but I guess that the weight of the 590 was just to much.
> 
> What is the best way to straighten it back out with minimum additional
> cosmetic damage?
> 
> I was thinking maybe a 2X4 piece and a big hammer (hitting the 2X4 not
> the 590).
> 
> Any suggestions?

Yeah. One important one, and I'm _NOT_ being flip:

          Ship via FedEx. 

UPS is consistently hard on stuff; every piece of gear I ever 
shipped via UPS arrived with damage. Others, like Rick Mish, 
tell me the same thing. 

FedEx is _much_ more careful. 

As for the bent panel, the pliers-and-cardboard idea is a good
one, and hitting the radio is a bad one. For a more severe bend,
try using big C-clamp(s) over thin plywood, and putting a 2x4 in
the clamp(s) as a lever. Be careful; it's easy to overdo it. 
     
-- 
Mike Andrews
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin since 1964