I have a project in the shop now and I need some advise.

It is a Victorian brass etagere that we are going to
disassemble, polish and lacquer the brass, resilver
the mirrors, and repair and polish the marble.

It will make a good before and after thread for Groop
when it is finished. A before photo is attached.

 

Here is what I need advise on.
Some of the parts are slightly bent out of shape.
They are all fairly ornate cast brass.
The legs have (for lack of a better description) a nut cast
on the end and it threads into a steel rod that passes
through the other pieces to the top of the etagere
to hold it all together. Some are bent as
well as some of the decorations are bent.

My question is how do I straighten them?
Can they be heated and bent back into shape of is there another method?

 

The polishing and lacquering are no big deal, however
I am out of my element with the metal bending work!

 

JoeH

TX