Bowling Ball Dent Removal

[Idahawk]

The basic idea is to use heat and weight to gently straighten or pop out any dents, pings or creases while minimizing porcelain loss. The sand cushion keeps the dents from exploding outward breaking even  more porcelain and also gives you a soft platform to work on while reforming your item.


You'll need
A bowling ball
Some sand ( speedy dry , cat litter)
Heat source ( I use charcoal )
Towel
Gloves
Pliers
Rubber mallet
A pan to hold the sand ( or if you have bad dogs like I do , then they will dig a hole in your yard and you can use that )



Locate all the areas you wish to address , for this piece I have a bowl handle bashed in , two silver dollar pings and all the grate straps have been bent and are pulled away from the bowl on the inside.

First I'll address the handle


I put the bowl on its side and make a pocket in the sand/towel for the handle to go down into , make sure there's enough sand under you handle as to not hit anything solid , the sand will compress under pressure keep in mind so allow room for that.

You want to center the area you need to fix directly over the sand cushion and position the bowl or lid so the affected area is as flat as possible .

Here I've used toothpicks to mark one of the pings I'm removing as well as the area around the handle



Now I'll heat up the area with hot charcoal in a basket. I'm using around 20 coals , that in Dutch oven cooking is about 450 degrees baking temp . I set the basket on the area for about two minutes.

Here's where it gets tricky if you alone , you need to quickly remove the hot basket of coal, line up your dent and roll the ball over the area . Have everything close by and have a safe place to set the hot coals , I use pliers to grip the basket.

With the area hot use the ball and aim for the peak of the dent pushing and rolling at the same time , it may take heating and rolling a few times to get a tougher dent out just take your time and work carefully.





The grate straps took much more work the thicker metal was tough to bend back, I used the round end of a rubber mallet to work the straps back as close to the bowl as possible.




Success all the way around I'm quite happy with the results








 







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[CharliefromLI]

These repair how to posts are awesome. Thanks @Idahawk

[Troy]

that is pretty freaking awesome.

so you really just roll the ball? you don't pick it up and drop it or anything like that?

[OoPEZoO]

Looks like a propane torch or a heat gun might work a little better/safer than a basket of hot coals.

Either way, fantastic work

[Metal Mike]

Weber bowl bowling.

I guess you can really bowl a turkey now...

[Idahawk]

that is pretty freaking awesome.

so you really just roll the ball? you don't pick it up and drop it or anything like that?

 Think of the bowling ball as a very large Pestle.


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[Idahawk]

Looks like a propane torch or a heat gun might work a little better/safer than a basket of hot coals.

Either way, fantastic work

To each his own

I have a weed burner and torch set up , I don't know how hot those get to be honest with you ? I feel like with the charcoal I have a better feel for the temp I'm after. 



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[SixZeroFour]

Very clever fix Ida!

It looks like it worked out perfectly and I bet it put a smile on your face when the lid dropped right on there like it should

Great job so far. I can't wait to see this beast with fire in its belly!!

[Mozfan00]

Really cool!

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[Fishawn]

Very cool!

[1911Ron]

Thank you for the write up!

[SmokenJoe]

@Idahawk  Thanks for a most necessary repair lesson, great idea.   I vote this "post" be added to the WKC "Tips & Hints" section on repairing Weber product boo-boo's                 SJ

PS  Someday, in the future, we should convert all of the member ideas to remedy "issues" into streaming video clips and put them into a member Topic.

Thanks again, Idahawk.  Great idea.

[Lemans]

Greeting all . I am lemans from nj and I am
Hooked on Weber Kettles... I have a 22 gold and
A smokey Joe silver that has become my
Mini WSM.. 18 inch silver kettle
   I was just given a kettle from the 80's
Marked Sears on the handles . Four hole vent
Top and bottom , tri leg just like my silvers
But it is grey enameled finish.. And the
Bottom has a ridge around it. Is this a happy
Cooker?

[Heyjude]

Looks like a propane torch or a heat gun might work a little better/safer than a basket of hot coals.

Either way, fantastic work

To each his own

I have a weed burner and torch set up , I don't know how hot those get to be honest with you ? I feel like with the charcoal I have a better feel for the temp I'm after. 



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@Idahawk  Well of course you have to fix a Kettle with hot colas. How else would it be done?   

[crowderjd]

@Lemans Those are good questions...but usually you will want to click on "Start a New Topic" at the top of each forum category.  You will get more responses that way.