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Posted by Bob in North GA [75.90.48.52] on Tuesday, May 03, 2011 at 10:02:56 :
In Reply to: Bowed Tailgate posted by David(fm VA) [128.154.36.92] on Tuesday, May 03, 2011 at 06:20:35 :
I have a small 10 ton hydraulic press and a 6ft long piece of heavy (10 in) channel iron.
Put the channel down with flat side up, 4x4 blocks on each end. Lay the gate bridging the blocks and put a scrap of plywood in the center of the gate. On top of the plywood, put another heavy wood block between the bottom of the ram (jack). Gently start jacking the ram and watch for distortions or breaks. Usually it will stay straight if you can push it a little past level and then back off. It will still probably need some patching and smoothing. A buddy of mine welded and bondoed a piece of pipe for the roll edge that he could never get straight. Just some ideas--if you are a perfectionist, buy a new tailgate.