the flexure to the load beam base portion 14 at 84 for example the rigid portion first face 34 defines at distributed locations as shown a series of etched recesses 86 recesses 86 locally reduce the thickness of the web 88 fig3 b between the bottom 92 of the recess and the load beam second face 36 at sites 78 80 etc adjacent the flexure metal layer 50 thus the load beam 12 volume at the recesses 86 is reduced and the load beam is weldable to the flexure 38 with less energy a reduced melt zone 93 and thus less distortion of the rigid portion 26 and the metal layer 50 than might be required to weld through the full thickness of the rigid portion through hole 94 coaxial and smaller in diameter than the recess 86 extends between the bottom 92 of the recess 86 and the load beam second face 36 to further reduce the local volume of rigid portion 26 at the welding sites 78 80 82 and further reduce the amount of energy need to effect a weld the rigid portion being laser welded to the flexure metal layer 50 at the recesses 86 fig4 a prior art figure in which like parts have like numerals plus 100 shows the melt zone 193 common to welds accomplished between a load beam 112 and a flexure 138 where there has not been preformed a recess that reduces the volume of load beam metal at the weld site 193 compare the representative profile of melt zone 193 with that of the reduced less wide melt zone 93 in fig3 a where the weld is accomplished with the invention recess and through hole innovations in its method aspects the invention provides a method of laser welding a load.