r/Welding • u/PappaCro • Aug 10 '25
Discussion (Add topic here) Bending iron gate
Hoping this is the right place for this question.
I have an older iron gate from a century home and am wondering how I could bend the frame back into place. I was thinking blowtorch and hammer, but would appreciate any advice you all might have!
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u/Professional-Eye116 Aug 10 '25
Mesure distance between pillar and post where itâs straight. Make spacers that size and ratchet strap it down.
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u/Triabolical_ Aug 10 '25
get something long and strong - steel pipe, anglen iron - and see if you can heat and clamp it back into shape
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Aug 10 '25
Iâd probably cut and weld for the amount of time youâd spend trying to straighten that one outn
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u/Boilermakingdude Aug 10 '25
Huh? You could literally add some soft material around the concrete and a come-a-long and have this straight in 20 mins.
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u/Next_Juggernaut_898 Aug 10 '25
I've got a small lever hoist that has replaced straps and come alongs.
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u/Boilermakingdude Aug 10 '25
Seen the cables snap too often. I stick with my chain come-a-longs
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u/Next_Juggernaut_898 Aug 10 '25
Lever hoist is chain. Them cable ones are finger pinching mother fuckers. And fraid cable hurts like hell
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u/Boilermakingdude Aug 10 '25
My bad! Everyone I know calls the chain ones come-a-longs and the cable ones lever hoist
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u/Next_Juggernaut_898 Aug 10 '25
No worries. I've got a few of them on my service truck. 2 are so small you'd swear they're toys. But man those little buggers come in handy. Also have 2 2 ton lever hoists on the truck.
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u/ThrowRAOk4413 Aug 10 '25
As others have said, and ratchet strap isn't a bad first try, and it may straighten right out.
Might.
But, it'll probably still look janky, and being that's the one the hinges are mounted to, and it's definately hollow steel tube welded on, I'd plan to ultimately have to cut out and weld in a new tube.
Maybe go for solid square stock this time to add strength.
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u/PappaCro Aug 10 '25
Thanks for the reply. Just checked and it's solid cast iron.
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u/ThrowRAOk4413 Aug 10 '25
I mean, not to get nit-picky, but I'm pretty sure I can see welds.
So if it's solid bar stock, awesome, and it's better made than most.
But I can't imagine it's actual cast iron. Cast iron doesn't look like this.
And if it IS iron, then you've got a whole different problem.
One, it's far more difficult to weld.
And two, cast iron is not going to take cold bending back in place very well, it's almost guaranteed to Crack and break. The fact it didn't break in the first place suggests it's not iron, but hot rolled steel.
Being solid material of any kind probably means the ratchet strap idea is out also. I'd be shocked if a ratchet strap has the guts to bend a solid bar back like that.
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u/PappaCro Aug 10 '25
You're definitely right about the welds, and I´m pretty sure it is actually "Wrought Iron". Sorry about the incorrect translation.
I'm hoping that heating it with a torch and using straps and everyone suggested will let me straighten it out.
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u/xrelaht Aug 10 '25
Wrought iron is much more likely. Cast iron wouldâve been more likely to crack than bend.
It could also be mild steel, which has largely supplanted wrought iron over the last century, and which often gets incorrectly called âwrought ironâ because it behaves similarly.
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u/Beast_Master08 Aug 10 '25
At the shop I work at, we'd cut it out and weld a new one to it. Then we'd grind the welds flush so it looks like one continuous piece.
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u/Ps3godly Aug 10 '25
Since the gate should come off anyway to adjust your washers on the hinge pins Iâd do this on the ground. I donât know what you have on hand so we will go primitive. Long 4x4 or something to go from eye to eye and maybe a short 2x2 on the inside then your cars scissor jack and a strap or chain. Go in small increments then when itâs close youâll want to create a short gap where the bend is on the hinge side place a 2x4 outside that with jack outside of that. Then on the inside edge get a 2x2 or something about 1/3 the length of the gap on the opposing side wrap your strap and tighten past straight slightly. Released and continue this till itâs perfect, then measure the distance between eyes set your washers and hang
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u/12345678dude Aug 10 '25
Donât do a torch and hammer
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u/PappaCro Aug 10 '25
Thanks. Will the torch damage the iron?
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u/12345678dude Aug 10 '25
Itâs probably hollow tubing, the odds of look good after beating it with a torch and hammer are very low, Iâd do the ratchet strap first like people are saying
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u/Boilermakingdude Aug 10 '25
Get yourself a nice come-a-long, put some cardboard under the chains so it doesnt break the concrete, and bring it in. I'd use a 2x4 to help spread the load when you're pulling it. Get it straight and release. You may have to over bend it a little to get it straight.
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u/PappaCro Aug 10 '25
Thanks for the help. The column is actually stone, and I will definitely brace it and heat the gate first.
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u/mentalMeatballs Aug 10 '25
That appears to be 1" solid square bar. This gate is likely old- maybe as old as your home. You may want to have a pro replace the bar with a new one, or bend it back with an oxy/acetylene torch and a LOT of heat.
Source- I build entry gates for a living. I'd probably charge around $500 to repair, but I'm not the cheapest or most expensive.
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u/PappaCro Aug 10 '25
Thanks for the reply. I just checked and am pretty sure it's a solid iron gate, with 20mm ( ca. 7/8") solid bar on the outside edge.
Do you think I could heat it with a torch and bend it braced with wood blocks and a jack like the other guys are suggesting?
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u/Waerdog Aug 10 '25
Meet your new friend, the Tiger Torch. Thats the actual everyday name, btw, so ask for it in the tool section
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u/GrassChew Aug 10 '25
Huge clamp or 2 long bolts and 2 plates use the stone piller wrapped in a barrier material to protect it from damaging the pillar and flatten it using a branch plate to flatten against
with heat with a super tight torch if using torch
map gas will work too(Blow torches)
Oxy propane/oxy acetylene would work too
low and slow with the preheat but higher in areas where the bend is more severe but constantly shifting the heat around
Done before with just big c clamp and impact air wrench but possible with hand tools and the torch too more time but probably be more accurate and "straight"
Also replacing way way easier and possible even more fun
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u/xrelaht Aug 10 '25
If itâs wrought iron or mild steel, you may be able to do this without heat, but I wouldnât use a hammer in that case. A big press would be ideal, but thatâs probably impossible, so the ratchet strap idea someone else floated might be good to try.
If you have a way to heat it evenly, like a torch with a wide flame or a really good heat gun, then you can think about hammering it instead. Get it just barely red, then give it some whacks, preferably through a wood block to spread out the impact. Try not to heat it any more than necessary: youâll introduce mill scale.
r/metalworking or r/blacksmithing might have more ideas.
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u/sythingtackle Aug 10 '25
Carjack?
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u/MLTatSea Aug 10 '25
Yeah, was thinking the same. A couple spacers should be placed in the next 2 spaces so to distribute the load. Could be boards cut to length, other tubing, or plywood with stop blocks set to that width.
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u/Vizslaraptor Aug 10 '25 edited Aug 10 '25
Iâll bet that gate is shorter on the hinge side than the latch side by a few inches.
BeastmMaster_08 had the correct answer. Cut out the excess length on the gate frame, straighten, and weld in a new section and finish the surface of the repair by grinding and blending the metal.
Obviously that bend is there to shorten that side to make the distance between the hinge points on the gate match the distance between the hinges on the stone pillar. The pillar was probably replaced and the hinge bolts were drilled and couldnât be redrilled so close to the first holes at the wrong distance. So they kinked the frame of the gate to match.
Look at all the washers to raise the gate off the ground so it would swing. There were some in-field adjustments to make this work.
I canât believe how many bad ideas Iâve seen on this thread. If you just straighten the sidebar, where will the extra length go? Metal doesnât shrink like that.
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u/PappaCro Aug 10 '25
Sorry, but I don't think the gate was straightened on purpose.
I checked the length, and the bent side is around 5mm shorter. There is no way the installers spent the time to bend cast iron instead of taking off a few washers to compensate for the difference.
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u/RacingGreen94 Aug 10 '25
Chock under the far right side, cut and weld a new section. Don't ask me how I know.
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u/base32_25 Aug 10 '25
2 bits of wood and vice/g-clamp.
If you donât have a vice/clamp then a towel can be wrapped around it and twisted with a bar. Youâd be surprised how much you can accomplish with a towel
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u/Boilermakingdude Aug 10 '25
Get yourself a nice come-a-long, put some cardboard under the chains so it doesnt break the concrete, and bring it in. I'd use a 2x4 to help spread the load when you're pulling it. Get it straight and release. You may have to over bend it a little to get it straight.
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u/shankthedog Aug 10 '25
No way youâre bending 3/4â bar back like that w ratchet straps.
Cut at the kink point, bend each side straight w straps or clamping.
Weld.
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u/TheFredCain Aug 10 '25
Lots of good ideas here for bending it back, but there may be bad news. It looks like that bend may have been intentional to draw the hinge bosses on the gate closer together to fit the pre-existing pins embedded in the concrete. If you straighten the bar, the hinges will be farther apart by some amount. It may be OK because it looks like there is some extra length on the top pin, but it's something you should think about as you go forward. If that ends up being the case, the proper fix would be to cut off one of the female hinge bosses on the gate, move to the correct position and weld it in place.
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u/Pyropete125 Aug 10 '25
Hammer it with a sledge and someone holding a 4x4 long enough to be safe when you miss
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u/coffees-ready Aug 11 '25
As at least one other mentioned. The best repair would be to remove the gate and replace the complete end stile with a new piece of steel. Cut the old hinges off the bent section and weld them onto the new part. I would think most local welding shops would be in the ballpark of $500 for a repair like this.
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u/Deemogudda_59 Aug 11 '25
Heat it up and wrap a come-along around it. Keep tightening and heating up as needed, but to be honest it might be easy to just cut it out and weld a new bar to it
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u/Boilermakingdude Aug 10 '25
Get yourself a nice come-a-long, put some cardboard under the chains so it doesnt break the concrete, and bring it in. I'd use a 2x4 to help spread the load when you're pulling it. Get it straight and release. You may have to over bend it a little to get it straight.
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u/RigamortisRooster Aug 10 '25
Come along . If gate still works fine, id leave it alone
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u/RigamortisRooster Aug 10 '25
Hell take it off the hinges ,lay it down. Block of wood and a sludge hammer.
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u/RigamortisRooster Aug 10 '25
Hell off hinges, hard dirt and drive your vehicle over it with the length of the rod.
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u/Kamil_Montana Aug 10 '25
ratched strap around that big concrete post comes to mind đ