Meter register with water vapor seal

aabbaab, bA method and article of manufacture for providing a mechanical bond and an improved water vapor seal between a lens and a base in an instrument housing, includes heating the components and a hot butyl rubber sealant prior to assembly, maintaining a level of heating for the assembly during assembly, dispensing the heated sealant into a channel to form a ring-shaped body of sealant, assembling the lens to the base and pressing a lower edge of the lens into the ring of sealant and bending an upper edge of the side wall over a portion of the lens. The method is applied in a second embodiment to an instrument having at least two signal conductors entering the base at two entry points. Apparatuses manufactured with the method are also disclosed.