UKC

Afternoon

I've just had a steel frame resprayed and repaired after an unplanned incident with some Reykjavik street furniture. During the interminable wait I was given a 55 year old pewter broach which belonged to my long-deceased mother. The broach was handmade in Sweden and I'd like to gently bend it so that it could be used as a head tube badge on the renewed frame. Wiki tells me pewter is malleable but I worry I might crack or split the metal. Initial plan is to heat the broach up and using a wooden mallet and a bit of dowelling with the same diameter as the head tube as a 'form' and gently bash a curve into the broach.

Does anyone have any experience, tips or ideas they could relate before I get going? 

Thanks

Depending on the composition of the pewter (older ones had lead) then heating it in hot water should be enough.

Also its brooch not broach.

This method should work just fine, all metals will work harden eventually so try and do it in one. What are you thinking of using to attach it to the frame?

I knew I was spelling that wrong, thanks for the heads up, I was about to email the office an display my ignorance. I removed a Condor Lightweights head tube badge from the same frame years ago and found it was stuck with a clear soft glue which was relatively soft when cured. I wouldn't want this to drop off, any suggestions? Gorilla glue?

Traditionally, it would be riveted.

I can see that a brittle glue might fracture, so a softer glue might be a better bet. You might also need to consider paint peel, and the effect of glue on the paint. It's all very well if the brooch sticks to the paint, but the whole lot comes away from the frame...

Some of the modern adhesive contact tapes are pretty damned good, provided surfaces are clean (grease-free) and smooth. A bent brooch might not meet that...

if you go for rivets and the holes you drill aren't big enough you will have to broach the brooch with a broach.  (isn't language wonderful)

Halfords do (did? it's been a while) double-sided thin foam-type tape for sticking trim to bodywork panels, which I've used in the past for other things. Scotch also do an exterior mounting tape that's pretty much the same thing, I guess.

Problem is that it'll be a pain to ensure good contact on a curved surface, although you may be able to get cunning about how you remove the backing paper.

Thinking longer term, you'll possibly want to factor in being able to remove it at some point in the future and foam tape would allow that.

Clear stixall would fit the bill, as long as you don't want to be able to remove it without wrecking the frame.

Did you get it done?