HP tape drive novel repair

[Jay West]

Chuck wrote...
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Well, if this were my unit, I'd remove the warped panel (it looks like
aluminum to me).  Drilling out the rivets shouldn't be a problem.
Then I'd put it on my English wheel with a flat anvil and roll it completely
flat--and then reattach with screws or rivets.
This is why you should talk to a competent auto body shop for whom, once you
remove the panel, the work should be a few minutes of child's play.
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My very first thought was to drill out the rivets. If the rivets were
originally pop rivets, I would have done this (sheared off the pop rivets,
take off the plate, flatten, and re-pop-rivet or bolt). But HP quality is a
bit better than pop rivets and I aimed to preserve that (come to think of
it, I don't' think I recall seeing pop rivets anywhere in the HP gear I
have). It's all aircraft style flush rivets that are sanded down & polished.
At times, you need a magnifier to even tell it's a rivet.

So long story short, I wasn't going to take that gorgeous smooth polished
surface and replace it with bolts or screws. But for something that was
pop-rivets, you betcha, I'd have gone that route.

J