"Stacey" wrote in message
...
My question, I know welding cast iron is basically a waste of time. I'm
thinking of drilling and tapping some (shallow?) holes to bolt a piece of
heavy strap metal along this edge to keep this crack from opening up and
getting worse.

Different metals expand at different rates in response to heat - doing what
you suggest _could_ put more strain on the crack if the strap metal and
bolts expand at a rate that doesn't match the cast iron. It seems to me
that drilling holes in the piece would weaken it further.

Does this sound like a good idea?

It sounds like a terrible idea to me.

I use this to heat my house so looks aren't that important, functionality
is
and I don't want it to crack any worse as right now it's still very
useable. I have tried to source a new top but it doesn't seem to be in
production anymore and hasn't been for 20 years.

Nothing lasts forever. It sounds like you should get a new stove - it's
hard to believe that somewhere out there someone doesn't make one that will
fit your needs. I don't know what the likelihood of a catastrophic failure
is (the crack enlarging to the point where the piece falls apart during a
fire), but after reading the statistics on house fires caused by
wood-burners, I wouldn't fool around.

From your description, it sounds like the problem is your own fault - count
it as an expensive lesson learned and take the kettle off the stove before
filling it with water in the future.

Anyone know where to buy
parts for an old Jotul wood stove? I read you can have new pieces cast at
a
foundry, anyone ever done this and have an idea of the cost? I've looked
at
the new stoves and none seem to be this large or take long pieces of wood
like this one does. It's a great stove and I want to do whatever I need to
to save it.

If you mean that, get a new piece made and replace cracked component.