Paused regularly to weld rough model (5)
I believe the answer is:
dwelt
'paused regularly' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with fundamental existence as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'weld rough model' is the wordplay.
'rough' indicates an anagram (a rough or broken ordering of the letters).
'model' becomes 't' (Ford Model T car).
'weld' with letters rearranged gives 'dwel'.
'dwel'+'t'='DWELT'
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dwelt that I've seen before include "hung out" , "Had house" , "Inhabited" , "Lived (in a place)" , "Remained" .)