You know, I've seen that done! probably 30 yrs ago... I was horrified when I saw him wail on it with a huge copper drift and a sledge hammer.
And just as you said, they turned it down to get the rest out of it.
The machine shop owner said, 'yeah, people aren't used to seeing that..' , ' major crank Mfg's do it all the time'
My friend was a certified welder and a machinist to boot. So he would weld up the cranks then machine them himself. He built funny car frames at 40k a pop. He was/ is a smart dude and made a ton of money.
