[b-man]

Maybe buy a new fork.

Or send it to a heavy equipment repair outfit and let them handle it.

Don’t hurt yourself trying to save your company a few dollars.

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by b-man

Maybe buy a new fork.

Or send it to a heavy equipment repair outfit and let them handle it.

Don’t hurt yourself trying to save your company a few dollars.

If you are making a decision for an employer, this is good advice.

Consequences of a bad decision are clearly different than if you are your own boss.

In theory, the risk for weakening the fork by straightening is low IF the bending was uniform along the fork AND the plastic deformation strain was low. If all the deformation happened in the tight root radius, risk for weakening by straightening is much higher. If the deformation strain is spread out along the fork, it will be much less likely to cause irreparable damage than if the strain was highly localized on the OD of that small root radius. But this is just theory and visual inspection might miss the truth. Not worth risking a failure if you are making a guess for your employer.

Sirrotica - are there shops that can "certify" a repair by "proof load" testing? Or is fatigue risk a big factor that makes it difficult to certify a repaired fork? Just curious.

Mike

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Shiny

If you are making a decision for an employer, this is good advice.

Consequences of a bad decision are clearly different than if you are your own boss.

In theory, the risk for weakening the fork by straightening is low IF the bending was uniform along the fork AND the plastic deformation strain was low. If all the deformation happened in the tight root radius, risk for weakening by straightening is much higher. If the deformation strain is spread out along the fork, it will be much less likely to cause irreparable damage than if the strain was highly localized on the OD of that small root radius. But this is just theory and visual inspection might miss the truth. Not worth risking a failure if you are making a guess for your employer.

Sirrotica - are there shops that can "certify" a repair by "proof load" testing? Or is fatigue risk a big factor that makes it difficult to certify a repaired fork? Just curious.

Mike

I've never seen or heard of any facility to test forks, if they were bent and noticed during a PM service the forks would be measured for wear and the bent one would be noted for replacement.

If they were worn more than 10% of the vertical portion on the carriage they would also be recommended for replacement. We had gauges to test for wear. You'd be surprised how many forks are worn along the bottoms more than 10%, especially if the unit was in a high production setting. BTW, 10% wear along the bottom reduces the load limit by 20%.

Proof testing would likely be similar in cost to replacement, plus the liability would be prohibitive.