It is a good idea to do your own welding if you are good at it. .023 Dia. wire might be a good choice. Old washing machine metal sides can be used or old car/truck doors/hood metal is good too. Learning to weld without warping is just a matter of taking a whole LONG time between spots and cooling with air to the touch. Don't run a bead, don't do more than one spot at a time. It's not worth it to get cocky. When it warps you are done...dead...back and forth nightmare.
I'm on the Carl/Deve side of things. Let a pro do the "body work" filling/smoothing. The inexperienced person, like me, can not do it. It takes too many years to get it and get the correct sequence and have the correct tools and be calm and patient and an artist all at the same time. We don't even know what smooth is. Too many "grits" to worry about. After we think it's smooth and then paint it, it looks like crap, always. Forget it or you will end up like Carl...abnormal, (in a nice way.)
