"I'm pretty crappy at welding " That is why I suggested brazing. Before I had real welding equipment I had a Sears Solid-Ox torch. You burned a rock-like pellet in a tube and it gave off oxygen. Combined with propane it got pretty hot. I sucked at welding too, but brazing was what this thing was best at. My wifey dropped a huge cast iron skillet and busted the handle off. I used a flux coated brass rod to braze the handle back on. That was almost 50 years ago and the handle is still in place. You don't need to melt the iron, but just get it hot enough so the brass melts and flows into the cracked part. It's a good skill to know.
