Fixing the cleaning rake broken weld on an old St Croix Greenfield

Hello
Has happened to you?
The St. Croix Greenfield is the multi-fuel version of the St. Croix Hastings.
There is a metal boot with a flange welded to the cleaning take. The cleaning rod is screwed into the boot. The weld broke and the boot pulled out of the back of the cleaning rake but still connected to the rod. Therefore the cleaning rod was racking like crazy and impossible to pull back and forth. Unfortunately the rod was welded from the heat of the stove and could not be unscrewed!
So using a Dremel, I had to cut the rod in the middle at an angle. The rest of the rod would not pull thru the back of the rake but it pulled down enough to get the Dremel right near the rake to cut the thinnest part of the rod and then the boot could be pulled out finally!
The new rod does not have a boot and can easily be bolted to the rake. I put nuts and lock washers on both the front and back of the rake to keep the rake perpendicular to the rod and prevent any raking. The stainless steel nuts and lock washers do not come with the new rod! ! !
See pics below:

Pic 1 - Old cleaning rod with boot vs. new cleaning rod with Stainless Steel nuts and lock washers
Pic 2 - front of stove
Pic 3 - front of cleaning rake with new rod installed.
Pic 4 - Back of cleaning rake with new rod installed.