Excellent job you must be very proud of it and you will get a lifetime of work out of it because you appreciate the work involved and what the machine is capable of. Many owners have no idea and bash and crash their way around and then wonder why they break. Any machine used within its design capabilities will always give good service, abuse they and they will fail. The rod welded around the cutter edge is a good move
When you build something you aquire a mechanical empathy and you understand what all the parts of the symphony are doing. You can tell easily when something is not in tune and have the skill to correct it before it becomes a problem. You also appreciate the value of maintenance.
