Wow, interesting read. The pics of the liners were good. The welding part...well..Cast it best done pre heated and you probably didn't stand much of a chance doing it with a Tombstone anyway(I am assuming you used a Lincoln Tombstone). Those things are good for welding rakes and shovels, that's about it. Easier to do cast with a motor generator driven dc welder but hey It looked not bad for what you had to work with. Cast s a bitch and in a hole like that, not bad at all.
Now onto my questions...
How hard was it to pull the liners and how did you do it ? I am looking at possibly dropping a slug in mine. Any tips would be great.
Also could you post a pic of the headbolt wrench ? I guess I will need one.