Don Foreman was out for a visit today... We, of course, needed an excuse to get together. Guys aren't wimin folk after all, we don't just talk, we have to do something.
My plan A was to remove one of the leads or ends on the broken John Deere AC condenser and then drill the obstruction. Things went smooth until drilling. The drill wouldn't go through the brazed obstruction. After a bunch of drilling the drill came out the side of a tube. Things looked pretty dark at this point.
Plan B was quickly formulated. We tied to remove one of the 180 U tubes on the end of the condenser to bypass the break. Things didn't go much better. The U is very thin copper and it mashed and then tore out. Things started to look even darker.
Don had a plan C. He built a little swedge on my 10 EE. (Don doesn't know this but he's the first person outside of my son that I've ever allowed to touch my beloved 10EE). We used this to make the tore out end perfectly round. Then carefully drilled out the torn out U tube leaving the main line. Don then did lots of futzing making the condenser lead fit. We clamped the lead just right and Don silver soldered it in place. It passed the pressure test.
Victory felt good. We celebrated with a few beers , steaks from the grill, mashed potatoes, fresh tomatoes, and wine. A very enjoyable afternoon.
Karl