# Are any of your aluminum frames warped? Fix them!



## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

I was talking to Matt from Westix Equipment and Supply about how a lot of my aluminum frames are warped and don't lay flat. He told me how to fix them and I thought I'd share it here:



Take your warped screen and lay it down on the glass of your exposure unit or a table that is truly flat, noticing which corners (two opposite corners) stick up a little bit and allow it to the wobble on a flat surface.
Hold the screen by the corners selected in the above step and lean it against a table or the wall or something sturdy, putting one of the good corners against the ground and the other opposite good corner against the wall or the table or what-have-you, at an angle.
Press the warped corners. I tried pressing hard, but actually what seemed to work was little shoves of good force. Do a shove, lay it on the exposure unit, does it lay flat? If it didn't lay flat, I did another shove of the warped corners, until it did lay flat.
What do you guys think? I tried it on the screens I had to use for recent jobs and it worked well.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

How thick are your frames?


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Standard thickness, I think. 1 3/8th inches.


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Matt told me that the aluminum isn't very thick so the frames are pliable if you put some effort into it.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Yeah, they are hollow. I still just can't imagine bending my frames (probably about 2.5"). I've seen some that are like 1" so I wondered if you were using those.

Well, good to know - if ever relevant I'll try putting some muscle into it and seeing what happens


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Mine are 20"x24". I bet your 2.5" thick frames are a lot bigger, like 25x31?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

I just pulled the specs... the main t-shirt frames are 490mm x 640mm with a 40 x 40mm frame, and 1.6mm aluminium thickness.

That translates to roughly 20x25" and 1 3/5th" frame thickness... so I was just wa_aay_ off on the frame thickness (assuming the actual frames are the same as the manufacturer's spec... I know they vary a little, but they're probably close).

...although they only give one measurement and they do both wood and aluminium screens, which aren't the same size. If I'm feeling bored tomorrow I might give them a measure 

Regardless, 1.6mm isn't thick, and bending them worked for you, so it's a useful tip.


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## neato (Mar 21, 2006)

I would be afraid of losing too much tension on the screen.


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## kylerogers (Jul 30, 2008)

I've decided to switch to Aluminum from wood. I've been doing a bunch of experimentation burning and reclaiming frames and some of the wood ones get more warped with each pass. One of the wooded frames I have even came badly warped straight from the manufacturer.

It would stand to reason that if the Aluminum ones got warped they'd be a lot easier to straighten than wood also. I would think that laying it on a flat wooded workbench and C-clamping the ends down real tight would help straighten it.

I only have a simple logos table top press, but when I buy something big I'm leaning towards the Lawson presses. They clamp onto the frame on the sides. Two on each side. That would go a long way towards straightening out your frame for you in the press. I've played with their HD-Max presses.


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

Kylerogers- A lot of brands can come with side clamps instead of rear clamps. I have a HIX press and opted for the side clamps to help hold registration. It's a great press, but it won't make your screens lay flat if they are warped.


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