Quittintime: Welding Cast Iron the old fashoned way

My Grandfather name was Tom, he was employed by Sunshine Windmills in the nineteen twenties and thirties travelling throughout Australia installing Windmills and repairing them. Before the introduction of "Self Regulating" mills the tail of which turns the mill blades "side on into a gale" it wasn't unusual for the mill to "Run Away" which was a term indicating centrifigal force had destroyed it. He would receive a "Telegram" telling him to be on a certain train at a certain time on a certain day and would be met at the distant end at the Railway Station a day or more later by the owner of the mill with a horse and dray to take his equipment to the remote site of the "accident". He would set up camp the first day erecting what comprised of a Tent and canvas fly which was to house a stretcher with bedding for sleeping and a stove with cooking implements. Climbing to the top of the mill he would often discover that several crown wheel teeth had been stripped off by the pinion. The crown wheel would be dismantled and lowered to the ground by rope. Scrabbling around on the ground on his hands and knees below the tower he would eventually find the broken teeth in the fine dust covering the soil. he would set up a three legged forge not unlike your backyard BBQ and fill it with charcoal. Light it up and place the crown wheel and the broken teeth on the hot coals. He would then pump the foot operated bellows supplying additional Oxygen to the charcoal in order to increase the heat. When the metal reached a certain hue of red he would deftly lift the crown wheel off the coals with two long handled tongs and place it on his anvil. He would then sprinkle salt on the broken cast iron surface and fit the broken tooth back into it's correct position. He would then place a solid copper drift on top of the broken tooth and strike it heavily with a lump hammer. The molecular shock of the heavy blow caused the metal to momentarily glow white hot and in combination with the salt the two surfaces liquefied and fused together forming a perfect weld. This process would be repeated until each broken tooth had been welded back onto the crown wheel and it had been repaired and only needed cooling and cleaning up with a small file. After telling me this story he showed me his forearms and to my surprise there were blue tattoo like lines just below the surface of the skin radiating away from his hands. He explained when the hot metal liquefied it sometimes squirted from between the crown wheel and the broken tooth, like water, passing right through his heavy leather gauntlets and gloves and penetrating his skin causing a hiss of steam and momentary pain and discomfort accompanied by the smell of pork cooking. He said It gave him no problems later on in life. It never ceases to amaze me that young people think manual work too hard today. But
So much for work safety back in those days.