I tried the spiral thing, but had too many blowouts. That's a part of how I got to my technique. Like you said, it works for me. I think the welds that result are strong, just not pretty. Which, kinda fits me and the truck.... I use a spot weld cutter from HF. I think it measures 3/8". It does a good job cutting out those factory welds. I usually add a pilot hole, though, as the center tends to wander without one. My main goals for posting my technique description were to get feedback (thank you!) and to put out something that might help someone else, but not be intuitive to another noob like myself. I think that even after I finish all of the welding that I need to do, I'll still be a "proby" (tip of the hat to NCIS).
