Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I tried cold-bending the bracket with a 1" solid steel bar inside a 1-1/2" x 4' steel pipe for additional support and leverage. No go, as the bar started bending right at the top of the bracket. The bracket is clearly tough material, though not quite tough enough for my misadventures plowing in reverse.
This afternoon I'll try pulling it out cold as Arc describes, using a 5/16" grade 70 chain and either a come-along or a high-lift jack set to pull mode. If that fails, I'll try adding heat with the Harris No. 10 welding tip or 6290-2 cutting tip, and hope I can get it hot enough, quickly enough, without overdrawing the little B tank. Overdraw is a concern, for sure. I've used the No. 10 tip successfully in the past to heat a 5 lb. cast iron machine part enough for brazing, and that took probably 5 or 10 minutes using a sand dam.
I love the idea of a shop press, BTW. Always looking for a good excuse to add a new tool, and my local HF has their 20 ton right now for about $150 after a coupon. That's only about $30 more than a new bracket would run from Woods after shipping. But I'm not readily seeing how I could set the bracket up to bend on a press. At least without some bending dies that I'd have a hard time coming up with. The receiver (sleeve) for the shoe post is welded to the bracket, and extends both above and below the top surface of the bracket where the distortion occurred. Plus, the forward, down-turned surface of the bracket that attaches to the moldboard forms a mating curve that I worry about screwing up if I detach it from the moldbord first. That's a same concern about trying to do this in a bench vise. Also not sure I'd be able to tell when I have the part straightened to the right orientation if it's off the moldboard. On the moldboard I can eyeball it pretty well.
If I can get this thing straightened out, I will indeed add some gussets as Arc suggests, to both this and the other bracket on the opposite side. That's a great idea. I have some 3/8" plate that I can shape with a portaband. My arc welder is only a 220v WeldPak 155 MIG, so
way underpowered for this thickness of material. But the application isn't critical, and the forces I'm trying to protect against would be in compression when I next back into a frozen retaining wall. I was able to weld 3/8" reinforcing gussets to 1/2" plate on a York rake last year after preheating.
I know. But that's actually held up well. I'd never try it on anything safety related.
Really appreciate all the input. I'll report back on how this goes.
