My 8A step broke off about 2 weeks ago, fortunately it was in my hangar and sort of slowly folded, so no injury to me or plane. NOTE: unlike all the other pics I see, my break was at the weld where the step meets the 80 degree vertical "post," not at the higher weld adjacent to the fuselage. The plane was painted just 9 months ago, and the crack was detected after the paint, so poor timing on that. But I bought a step from Vans and put the job on the to do list.
I read up here and decided (per A&P's recommendation) to get the help of a capable welder with mobile equipment here in town rather than install the new step I already purchased from Vans. I also inspected the upper weld with flashlight and mirror to see if there was a crack there, but none found. Welder cleaned up and trimmed for fit, and MIG welded the step back onto the vertical. I drilled a new weep hole at the low end of the step. Multiple tests of the step restored my confidence in entry and exit. Then used a silver spray paint I had that is close to the paint shop color and will try to blend better on another day. Tread tape went on a day later with some prewarming of metal and tape. Anyway, the pictures below may be helpful to someone.