[Kevin in NJ]

For mine I used the chisle and re-formed the grooves. I then welded the bottoms of the rods round, back to their original shape. I got very clear clicks with the rods. I am very pleased with the results.

Now, this may not work for all. Some are in worse shape. Poking around at flea markets I would say you should be able to locate a nicer column if you look around and not spend much. So if yours does not come up nice with a chisle I would not try to do much to fix it. I would try to find better.