Yep, I have taken the 'irreversable' thing into account. Since my car is in about the worst condition a car can be in (paint flaking off, cracked windscreen, trans making a strange rattle) Im not too worried about being able to reverse it.
Also, if you are familiar with the 4711 welding standard, you will that its about the hardest test a welder can do (aside from perhaps, ASME 9). It comprises first of a fillet bend over test to ensure you are able to get penetration, then a 300mm long butt weld with 12mm steel. First this gets a visual inspection for defects such as undercutting, excessive spatter, arc-strike and the correct weld shape. Then 3 samples are taken for mechanical testing. Two of these are nick-breaks, where the weld is cut 2mm deep on all sides, then broken open and visually inspected for porousity, wormholes and lack of fusion. The third is a bend test, where the weld is ground smooth and then bent back over on itsself to check for any cracks or splitting. Then a 150mm long section of the welded plate is x-rayed, to check for hidden weld defects (wormholes and porousity, again).
Having passed this test several times, in different positions and welding processes, Im pretty confident that I will not mess up any of the weld.
Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to show that Im not just some dumb kid playing around in his garage with daddys welder.
