When the dipperstick on my old backhoe snapped off right below the gussett I thought I'd seen the end of it's life. I had know idea a break such as this could be repaired. I was quite happy when I found a local welder who took on the job and did a great repair . If anyone is in the Lake Sunapee NH area and needs a good welder I would certainly recommend Merrimack County Customs. I thought I'd share a few pictures.
No reason at all not to weld that back up. Not hard to make it as strong as new. For future reference, the original design was faulty with the weld on the end of the curved plate, that wouldn't be done these days. You can see from the rust staining in the first pic that that weld or near it has been cracked for years. Keep an eye for that kind of rust streaking. Of course the streaking could have been partly from the surface rust running down the paint too, but I bet it was mostly from the rust powder that crack was releasing as it moved.
My brother used to own Merrimack Sheet Metal in Concord I think,maybe Manchester,it has been a long time since I was up there.He has since retired and sold his shop but he did a lot of work in the area over the years.Glad you got it fixed.Ron G