Got a little practice today...

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Annnd... I sucked. I have a local customer that owns a Stealth I work on... I knew English wasn't his first language, but He's always had an excellent grasp of it, and often serves as translator when he brings in cars belonging to family and freinds. So it was a bit unusual when he couldn't find the words in English to describe the situation with his brother's old Pontiac he wanted to bring in... Once I saw it, I understood perfectly. I had no words either....  The aftermarket shifter had been 'welded' to the floorboards, but had broken loose. So he had purchased a new shifter, and wanted us to install it properly. The aformentioned welds looked more like they had let a seagull loose in the car, and I easily ripped the rest of the shifter and a support bracket out of the car by hand... I failed to get pics of this fine workmanship, but while under the car, I did get some pics of the same artists work on the exhaust...  As far as fixing the car, it turned out there was really no place on the center console to properly mount a shifter, so we were going to have to fab a platform to bolt it to. After a couple measurments I determined that it needed to be 10" X 4", with a 1" riser in the back, so off to the scrap pile I went... As it turned out, I had nothing 4" wide, but I had several feet of 2"... Well, that's what they make welders for right..?As soon as I fired up, I knew it wasn't going to go so well... I wasn't comfortable, hands weren't steady, and I obviously had the heat up too high. (and if you've seen me drive, you know I have issues with keeping my foot off the floor... )But it was relatively non structural, out of sight, and getting painted... We'll just call it a lesson learned and roll with it....
Reply:You can see how hot it was, my inconsistent travel speed, and unsteady hand by looking at the backside:A couple pics of it in place:I really need to get more time under the hood... Getting comfortable and competent with this welder is something I really want to make happen, but it isn't going to, unless I get a lot more practice in....