Microwelding Case Study - Gathering Pallet Repair

An intermittently faulty striking of the hours on a longcase was due to the wear on the gathering pallet shown. The second and third pictures show it after welding and the last two pictures shows it after cleaning up.

Wear on the gathering pallet.

Small deposits of metal are added to replace the missing material, (front view).

Small deposits of metal are added to replace the missing material, (reverse view).

Excess material ground away and finished (front view).

Excess material ground away and finished (reverse view).

Alternative Approaches

Repair options were to replace the gathering pallet, or to silver solder a new beak on. Silver soldering a new beak has some merit because it keeps the original pallet and when the soldered piece itself eventually wears, then it too can be replaced. However, the microwelding repair took next to no time, and completely restores the pallet to its original condition.