Crazy Task #4: Micro welding the most obscure of studs

It has been a while since we have profiled one of our jobs of lunacy but today's confession of crazy will squash any doubts that perhaps we have softened in our approach. Recently we took apart the instruments to be restored and re-built. We discovered that most of the studs that hold the guages in place had damaged threads.

The first step was to clean the gauge casings and remove the offending studs. From there new items were manufactured by turning down button head machine screws in the lathe. Mind you there was no functional reason to do this; we just thought that it looked more proper to do it this way and certainly the result is more elegant than a bolt head.

Next came the decision to have the guages sent to a shop that specializes in micro welding with special tools under a microscope. There the tiniest amount of weld was deposited on the stud fixing it forever in place.

Why go through the time and expense to make pretty the head of a screw that lives its life on the inside of a sealed guage which is on the inside of the dashboard? The answer is I am not sure however we are happy with the result and will always make a little smile when we think of this crazy task.