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Angier,

I would guess the bowing in your panel is likely caused more by stretching
than by cold working stress. My guess is it's there for good. You might try
reinforcing the back of the bow with some small angle pieces to straiten the
bow out. I had the same problem with my panel out of .063" 6061-t6. I made a
new panel segment (actually, I made 5....) about 12"x 8" to hold my six 3.5"
instruments and shock mounted the small panel to the main panel. I believe
you can buy these nicely pre-made from aircraft spruce. I know there is a RV
builder on the web who sells them. I finally got an instrument punch that
does both sizes that worked without bowing. I'd be glad to send it to you if
you want to try it. it was inexpensive.

Scott Dahlgren

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