Fixture and method for rectifying damaged guide thimble insert sleeves in a reconstitutable fuel assembly

A guide thimble damage-rectifying method is described for use on a reconstitutable fuel assembly being held in a work station with its top nozzle removed to expose a plurality of guide thimbles having one of several different types of damage. The method consists of: (a) providing a base having a plurality of tool positioning openings defined therein in a pattern matched with that of the guide thimbles of the fuel assembly; (b) mounting the base on the work station with its tool positioning openings in alignment with the guide thimbles of the fuel assembly and such that the base is movable toward the guide thimbles; (c) providing a plurality of different tools each operable to rectify one of the different types of guide thimble damage; (d) mounting selected ones of the different tools in respective ones of the openings of the base in alignment with ones of the thimbles having the respective types of guide thimble damage capable of being rectified by the selected tools such that upon movement of the base toward the guide thimbles the respective types of guide thimble damage will be rectified by the selected tools; (e) providing a group of positioning elements; (f) mounting the positioning elements in selected ones of the base openings corresponding to undamaged ones of the guide thimbles such that upon movement of the base toward the guide thimbles the positioning elements become mounted on upper end portions of the corresponding undamaged ones of the guide thimbles for precisely locating the fixture relative to the guide thimble upper end portions for accurate performance of the repairable damage rectifying operation by the tools as the base is moved toward the guide thimbles; and (g) moving the base toward the guide thimbles so as to mount the positioning elements on the corresponding ones of the undamaged guide thimbles and effect rectification of the damaged guide thimbles by the selected tools