[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi Daze,

He's not a friend - yet! He's a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) employed by one of our test labs, but in talking to him he seems like all of us on this board. A nice guy with our same interests. He closed his fab shop and works out of his garage now. It came up because he gave me his email and it referred to "customs" in the address. When I asked about it he told me he'd had a hotrod fabrication business for years but there were so many things he'd do "while he was in there" he wasn't making money and he couldn't stand to NOT do these things or do the work half-assed - his words, so he closed and went back to being a CWI.

I liked that attitude. I got thinking of it overnight and called him.mhe said yeah, he sometimes still takes on side jobs but can't work as fast now that he's got a full time gig again. I've told him I'm in no rush, I wont "Bart Simpson" him with "Are we there yets?" If this happens I'll get references before I go forward and I'll see some of his work. But it looks promising.