Welding 101

My present to myself this year is an introductory welding course.  Two lessons in and I'm pleased to report that the hand that carves a foam sword is steady enough to lay down a nice consistent weld too; I seem to have an aptitude for it, which is nice.  We start on funny stuff like verticals and curves and thinner metal after the holiday break.  Things wot I have learned so far:

• Welding is like climbing in that it is disruptive.  You know how after you've been climbing, you can't walk down a street without looking at the buildings a little differently, planning a route up the Cathedral and across Primark?  Like that.  It's a new superpower.
  
• It's like wheelbuilding too - changing the game when it comes to bike fettlin'.  A whole extra bag of tinkering opportunities are opening up and verily doth this rock.
• A slow steady tune in your head helps with a slow steady weld.  The Blue Danube is better than anything Trent has done. 
• Gloves are good.  The nice purple burn on one hand and swollen UV sunburn on the other are a handy reminder here. 
  
• The arc tearing up the surface impurities as it melts the joint metal is really, really pretty in a furious, destructive, power-of-physics wild magic Tesla plasma apocalypse kinda way.  But don't stop to gawp or you'll melt right through your piece.

I'm going to make such horrible, twisted funnybikes now.