If you haven't done any welding work for a while it's a good idea to find some old metal and practice on it before welding something you want to keep. I think it's the same thing with spray painting, practice is the key to good work. I found it out the hard way when I had to braze a tank the other day. I believe I could have done decently if I could have done it while it was laying flat but it wasn't. It held but didn't look too pretty.