Asked a "dumb" question about the deadline once, found out it was actually next year not next week.

Blew out the side of my forge" sums up my whole welding career honestly. I tried welding a cast iron brake drum once for a forge base and it cracked before I even got the fire lit. I think cast iron just hates being welded unless you do all that preheat and slow cool stuff. For forge parts especially, the heat cycles are brutal on it. I stick to mild steel or old propane tanks now, saves me a ton of headache. Good luck with that 1/4 inch plate though, that should hold up way better.

$60 just for an app that lies to you?

My buddy @the_morgan actually talked me into trying that with a 15 year old bathroom scale I found at a garage sale for $2. Had to YouTube how to do the recalibration but it took maybe 10 minutes with some pennies and a known weight. I was SHOCKED it actually worked, it's been within half a pound of my fancy one for like 6 months now. Totally worth a shot if you're not trying to weigh anything over like 50 pounds.

Did you check the screw first or last?