Abstract: The slots for accommodating feather seals in the turbine vanes of a gas turbine engine has the end thereof sealed off by use of weld wire inserted into the slot and simultaneously welded and cut to the required length.

Abstract: Apparatus for welding a workpiece using a gas tungsten welding arc and filler wire has three machine elements mounted on a base, to provide x, y, and z motions of a carriage part. A welding head is mounted on the carriage and is adapted to move in the z vertical direction and rotate without limitation, relative to the movable carriage. Thus, the head has five independent motions. The workpiece is mounted on a holder which provides x, y, and rotational motion beneath the welding head, to reposition the workpiece between actual welding operations. The apparatus which is controlled by two small computers is adapted to weld complex shaped workpieces.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus capable of effecting relative movement between the oval-like girth or circumference of a workpiece and tool means while maintaining the planar and radial workpiece surfaces in a fixed plane relative to the tool means as they are exposed thereto. The apparatus is especially useful in laser welding an oval-like girth joint around a workpiece since the workpiece surface is always maintained in a substantially fixed plane relative to the lens which focuses the laser beam, thereby maintaining proper beam focusing and angle of beam incidence on the surface throughout the entire welding process. For laser welding, the apparatus includes a base in a fixed plane relative to the focusing lens, means for effecting relative translational movement between the base and lens, and bearing and shaft means, including chuck means, for holding the workpiece in proper relation to the lens and for rotating the workpiece about longitudinal axes through the radii of the oval-like workpiece girth.