CarolinaDeerHunter.....the husband has been doing it for years , the weldng thing, so i trust his work...or else my big butt wouldn' t be up there...my friend wieghs like 245lbs and if it doesn' t buckle with him in it,.i know i' ll be safe....the only thing i don' t like is the plywood seat, makes it a lil heavy,but it' s alot better than the metal mesh looking stuff he made on my first one.....he' s still learning to perfect them, i' m just happy i get to have his practice stands