[jhnarial]

One of the hardest aspects of metal shaping is the welding. Understanding what, when and why causes the distortion of the metel when being welded. You can be a great metal shaper but if you can not weld two pieces together without it becoming distorted it is all for nothing.
I believe it is the first and most importan aspect to metal shaping.

Try to weld to flat sheets of 18g with out any distorition. If you can't do that then there is no need for a english wheel or planishing hammer. Metal does not like to change it's shape so break it into manageable pieces which almost always require welding.