[ATVYP]

For some details: I am at the point where my 110 MIG welder was not hot enough to give a smooth looking and good penetrating top weld. I considered having all the final welds TIG welded for appearance sake, but I lucked out! A good friend hooked me up with a really nice 220 Miller MIG, and this welder does such a better job with the final welds. So I am going over everything with a fine tooth comb, grinding what I don't like to look at and filling it in with something that is up to par. The good thing is that everything is structurally sound, but the appearance of a sloppy weld will really drive me crazy down the road.

I have been working on the backing plate for my boxing plate bow tie symbols. I was not able to fit 1 single sheet metal into the slot, but I found something that works even better. I cut the plates in 1/2 and have assembled them with machine screws. Using a template, I was able to drill every plate and hole exactly where it was necessary without worrying about imperfection. I spent an entire 2 days dressing up the bow tie holes with files / grinders / and finished with a rolox pad. I believe they are really close to perfect now. Down the road I will use the stainless steel allen head screws where the temporary standard ones are now. I am really pleased with how they are turning out. When the frame is painted a charcoal color and all the brackets and backing plates are black, I think it will really "pop" in a good way.