Another shipping tragedy -- I should have learned my lesson about buying inexpensive standards which leave the seller little motivation and funds to pack properly. A very nice looking LC Smith Secretarial, virtually new inside, took a hard whack on the carriage and stripped some teeth off the gear on the shaft of the escapement which engages the rack. It occurred to me to build them up again and file them into shape and I learned that tiny, tiny welding machines exist and found some video of something being done with a very fine wire ... which looks just like the right technique. Another possibility would be brazing but this seems a poor second choice since it might heat up too much metal to be done in situ, and leave a blob of metal which would take significantly more work to shape.

Any experience with this kind of gear repair? I cannot accept the DOA verdict -- it's worth a try.