I have been practicing on plenty of scraps. This bike is the next step. I just came in from practicing on some more scrap (same tube as i'm using for the rack). I'm working on building up fillets.

I think i was a little too worried about melting that joint, it's not THAT hard to control the heat enough to keep from melting those. The practice just now gave me a better idea of how it's going to work out.

I'm moving ahead. I appreciate the input. I'll post pictures later. Might not get all the pieces shaped tonight though.