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"I saw one of the older greatest welders of his generation screwed over to make room for some young punk who had the prettiest welds you ever saw, but nothing was square with the world."

And weak welds are easy to make pretty with wire welding. I was pretty good with a stick but didn't do enough vertical uprights to get the hang of those. I did more custom machine work, machine op, fab, cutting and expediting (and race cars and other projects with friends and at home: electronics, electrical, residential building, etc.). Maybe try those vertical uprights again in the near future, or maybe I'll join to masses with more wire welding. ...not much current here (too far from power lines), and work with wire can go faster.

I’m in awe of a good welder. Many things I was involved in my career were dependent on exceptional skills by a welder. Many of my projects involved extreme temperatures and volatile fuels. Those piping flanges had to be exactly parallel. A good aluminum welder is a sight to behold. My little old blast gate hypersonic chamber designed in 1991 still runs today, much to my amazement. I feel like such and ass at times, thanks for the thread FRiends. I will try to mentor some young folks at the local educational centers. pay it forward.