The frame segments are coming together, slowly but surely. I made a good bit of progress this weekend, though there’s not much visually interesting to share besides the handful of pictures I’ve posted in the image gallery. The best news is that I’ve gotten the side plates welded together on one of the two frame segments, and it looks like my plan for assembling everything is actually going to work out.

I applied the first MIG welds to go into this project this afternoon, using my new Ready Welder, some argon/CO2 mix and two lead AGM batteries in series. You don’t get nearly the kind of precision you’d get with TIG, but it was very handy for getting into tight corners where I don’t have the skill to manipulate the TIG torch and filler wire. Using MIG takes the skill element almost out of the picture, as welding becomes a largely point-and-shoot affair. I should write a review of the Ready Welder, which has some very unique characteristics. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great tool and came in very handy today.