Is This Umbrella Fixable?

December 31, 2004 6:25 PM

I bent my Wookie umbrella! (More has found shelter from the rain inside.)

I just opened the package of a vintage umbrella I got on eBay. It's pretty obvious the umbrella was damaged during shipping; the pole is bent at nearly a 45 degree angle! It's a fabulous vintage plastic umbrella, and I would like to keep it, but it's pretty unusable at this point. The pole is metal; the umbrella is probably from the 70s or 80s. The bend is around 2/3rds from the top of the umbrella. Would it be possible for me to hammer the pole back into shape, or should I leave it alone and send it back?

posted by lychee to grab bag (2 comments total)

Telescoping tubing is pretty hard to 'bend back.' I've never been able to do it.

Good luck. (In the display case no one might know)
posted by sled at 6:31 PM on December 31, 2004

All right, I got my (stronger than me) brother to bend the sucker back. It's a bit...wobbly, but now it at least appears to be a normal umbrella, instead of some odd Tetris piece. I emailed the seller advising them to user better packaging materials next time (the package was pretty banged up and appeared reused with lots of tape).
posted by lychee at 12:08 AM on January 1, 2005