[Shop-talk] Welding Words of Wisdom needed

[Steve Shipley]

I'm trying to dig my Lotus 7 out of the garage (oops shop!) and get it running.

There was a moment of sadness when looking at the rear axle housing.
It's originally out of a Triumph Standard 10 I believe.

Anyway it looks like any other rear axle but the back part of the axle
where the gears reside is covered by a formed steel cover that
is welded to the axle casting.  This cover has about a two inch crack,
on the upper part so the lube is still contained.

I have a choice of welders; gas, mig, and tig.  Unfortunately I am stuck 
with one weldor, me.

So I'm thinkin'....about welding up the crack...and just how to do it.
 From the outside, from the inside, from bothsides....
should I drill at the ends of the crack or will the welding alone
stop the progression?  I'm pretty sure there are a variety of ways
to fix this, I'm interested in your thoughts on how you would approach this.

Steve Shipley
Seattle, WA