Here, Leon is "persuading" the steel into shape with a few quick smacks from the 4-lb. punisher, stopping along the way to spot weld in place until the arm is complete. | 
We've set the arm aside for a minute to forge the cup that will replace the center of the original saddle. Once again, we used 31/416-inch thick flat steel and we also cut a section of 311/42-inch pipe. You will also want to cut the center section at about 3 inches in diameter so that you leave a gap at the edge of the pipe and the flat steel. Putting a cap on the pipe is where most street cars don't go the extra mile. Most weld in a piece of pipe to hold the spring in place and leave it uncovered. |
Here's the pipe and cap set to weld. The cap's been centered and tack welded in place and is just waiting for the thick bead of molten steel to finish it off. | 
This is the last of the pieces to be added to the arm. This saddle reinforcement can only be done once the rest of the arm has been molded and welded together. If you try to weld this before all of the other work is done, you will just make your job of welding a clean set of arms harder. |
Here, we take the flat piece of steel that we cut with a torch and carefully put it through the steel roller in order to make the bend and shape the steel to cup around the base of the saddle. | 
Once again, we check fit before we weld it in place. Since everything looks good and the cup is the shape that we need, the area is prepped for welding. |
We make sure that our weld is wide enough to cover over the gap of steel and that it's giving a total reinforcement to the saddle. | 
This is our arm with all of the welding done. You will notice that all of the holes have been filled and there's no place left uncovered. |
Our final shot shows you our welded arm and a welded arm with time spent grinding and polishing. Both look excellent, but the extra time spent grinding makes a blinding difference and is defiantly worth the time. | |