Dude, save the drive, and go to gull ski in missoula. I work there and not to toot my own horn or anything, but the techs there are the best I've ever seen. never ever seen a base weld come out, and you usually can't even tell where they did work.
I've got like 8 welds in my bentchetlers, and they ski better than brand new after the work that's been done on them. no joke.
plus beer counts as an acceptable form of payment.