Hit my first major welding fail on a gate last Thursday

I was forging a custom garden gate for a client in Austin (3 years of blacksmithing under my belt now) and the main hinge weld just cracked right down the middle during the cool-down phase. I used a 6013 rod with my AC buzz box (you know, the cheap one from Harbor Freight) and I think I rushed the preheat or maybe didn't clean the scale off good enough. The gate was supposed to be ready this weekend, so now I'm grinding it all out and starting fresh on the hinge joint tomorrow. Anyone else have a weld fail like this on something that seemed simple? Got tips on avoiding cracks when joining thick bar stock to a thinner plate?

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