Hi everyone,
long story short, my beloved Framework 13 fell on a tile floor from about 1.7 meters, being only partly inserted into a neoprene laptop sleeve, with one of the sides uncovered. The left bottom corner got a hit, and is now bent up, towards the screen. The screen is fine and everything works, just the corner is bent (uff).
What do you think would be the smartest way to bend the corners back into the original shape?
Thanks for providing guidance @anon81945988!
Youâll want to remove the top half at the hinges to make sure that it isnât damaged while trying to get things back in shape.
Absolutely worst cast scenario, please reach out to Framework Support if you canât get things where they need to be. We may have a used Bottom Cover and Input Cover that couldnât be used in a refurb build that we can offer at a discount (weâd have to check with our repair center partner). Canât hurt to ask in these unfortunately situations. Accidents happen, but the good news is that a Framework Laptop is repairable and we have parts available.
Not sure about âsmartestâ but your approach should be optimised for available tools and materials. Hereâs how Iâd approach it using stuff I have in the house and the shed.
Fashion a small hardwood block to follow the inside radius of the undamaged corner and to protrude 10-15 mm above the lip of the âbowlâ that is the lower case. When the block is flipped over it should match the curve of the damaged corner.
Place the case on something inflexible (like a marble pastry board) and slowly press the wooden block into the bent corner by alternately tensioning a pair of ratchet clamps.
Itâs possible that the bent aluminium will resist the clamp compression. If that were to occur, Iâd use a pair of G-clamps to press the wooden block into the aluminium, alternately torquing each one down in quarter-turn increments using a suitable lever.
Dino
Addendum
Iâve been thinking about this a lot (Lukasâ photo is not something one can unsee) since I posted the above. It occurs to me that some preparatory steps will be essential:
Impressive damage. Does the speaker still work?
Would be nice to see pictures of the inside whenever you take it apart.
Send it to Japan:
Donât use clamps. Clamps implies that youâre trying to leverage the rest of the body, transferring force from one area to another. You want to localize the forces to a small, very small area when youâre bending the aluminum. Forces applied to metal over any length of distance typically gives unpredictable outcome because of non-uniformity of the material over that distance.
On the flip side, if you hammer without any clamps youâll probably end up just flinging the whole plate into your own faceâŠ
You need a backing support piece.
Look at that first video, and this one to see what I mean (poor communication skill on my part):
The âdimplesâ are intentionalâŠbut it can be really smooth.
Thank you everyone for the replies!
For sure I will remove all the components when attempting to bend it back.
The speaker still works, and funnily enough, it seems to sound even a bit better with the extra hole 
Thanks for the detailed plan of action @truffaldino! I will be able to watch the videos a bit later today @Second_Coming, but I suppose that the idea is: If it is possible to remove all plastic parts, then heat up the aluminum (actually thatâs the tip I got yesterday in the local maker/hackerspace), and then hammer it back to shape.
Make sure to come back and show us the final result, Lukas. I am super interested to see how this all turns out.
Just try not to do this:
Yeah please keep us posted Lukas_Helebrandt.
Second_Coming pointed me here as we seem to be twinsies.
Mine didnât call as far though, and was in a bag.
Honestly I would bring it into a professional repair shop and ask them if they know how to fix it and how much it will cost.
They have much better tools to do this.
This could fix it (lol):
Be careful heating the aluminum. Itâs not like steel. Steel will get dull red, then cherry red and then yellow/white while still having some strength, allowing it to maintain shape, while bending/shaping more easily.
Aluminum will heat to the point of literally flowing before it gets hot enough to noticeably change color, so you have to be careful not to heat it up too much. Also if the case is made out of some kind of hardened aluminum and you heat it up enough to get soft, it can âannealâ and become slightly softer permanently, even after it cools, unless you were to properly heat-treat it afterward. Probably not a big deal, just something to be aware of.
Aluminum âwork hardensâ very quickly when it bends, causing it to crack when bending back. That would be the main reason I would heat aluminum before bending. Just to avoid this cracking. But looking at your picture, I donât think it bent far enough for this to be an issue. And aluminum is soft enough that it should âhammerâ back into shape pretty easily without heating like you might do with steel.
Just my thoughts $0.02
Good luck however you decide to tackle this.
Hi everyone! @anon81945988 @truffaldino @MJ1 @Second_Coming @Mapleleaf @James4 @Jethro_Flagg @Count.Zilch @Anachron @BigT
It took me a while, but better late then never! I managed to fix it together with my DIY guru in November 2023. In the end, the only tools used were pliers, hammer and a vise. Following pictures in chronological order:
I have to admit that in reality it actually looks much better than on these pictures:) Overall Iâm very happy with the result, mostly people donât even notice.
Cheers to everyone for all the input!
Nice job! Glad to see you were able to fix it.
Well done. There is many a laptop will look worse than that after a couple of years.
you will be setting up to panel beat cars (like the Father Ted clip further up) next 
Really nice end result. Especially how terribly bent up it was originally.
Itâs good to know that the Framework shell can take that level of re-bending and forming back to a proper shape. Framework, âUser repairable, even if it takes a hammerâ
That is truly impressive indeed.
Love the fact you really took ownership of it and made it yours. What a journey!
@Destroya, you might want to consider creating a Metal Master badge for @Lukas_Helebrandt.
@Destroya Iâd like to add that, when the ad budget for Framework grows, please consider casting Nick Offerman as a spokesperson: âYou can fix your Framework laptop. With a hammerâ.
