[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by colorfixer

So in theory, if you were to patch the ding, say with nickel plating, the tube should be able to hold a vacuum -provided it survived another rebuild attempt?

Don't know if nickel plating would do it, but yes.
I wonder if welding around the ding would work.

I bought some very expensive vacuum sealant that was supposedly rated to withstand the oven temperatures. Scotty put it around the metal-glass seals (where he thought the problem would be), but of course we learned much later that wasn't it.