I am in the process of restoring an Atco mower from the 1920s. As far as I can gather, the frame is cast in malleable iron. (The frame of the previous model, with a different cross sectional shape, was made from cast iron, and not too many of those survived.)
My problem is that a small part of the frame -- a bracket that forms part of the front roller carrier -- has been slightly twisted and I'd like to straighten that as part of the restoration process.
My question is: should that be done via heating or should it be hammered cold? Having read a bit online about how malleable iron is made, I'm a little concerned that heating it may return it to a brittle state. Equally, I'm concerned that hammering it cold may fracture the 90 year old metal.
So, I'd like to hear from those experienced with working malleable iron, especially vintage iron.
Below is a photo from the Internet of the part that I am referring to. The slight twist in my case is between the front hole and the rear hole, if you were to look along the part with rods through the holes and those rods being horizontal to the ground.
My problem is that a small part of the frame -- a bracket that forms part of the front roller carrier -- has been slightly twisted and I'd like to straighten that as part of the restoration process.
My question is: should that be done via heating or should it be hammered cold? Having read a bit online about how malleable iron is made, I'm a little concerned that heating it may return it to a brittle state. Equally, I'm concerned that hammering it cold may fracture the 90 year old metal.
So, I'd like to hear from those experienced with working malleable iron, especially vintage iron.
Below is a photo from the Internet of the part that I am referring to. The slight twist in my case is between the front hole and the rear hole, if you were to look along the part with rods through the holes and those rods being horizontal to the ground.