Thanks for all the replies!
To answer some of your questions/comments, they are cheap, surplus cylinders, so I doubt they are anything beyond the common and, well, cheap.
The base end is far longer than it has to be, so I'm looking to shorten that end as well, looking at it again yesterday, I may be able to simply drill new holes in the existing ears, leaving them in place. If not, some cutting, grinding, and welding will be required on that end as well. If so, I'll probably change it to a tab mount to simplify matters.
For cutting, I recently added a cheap 4x6 bandsaw, which cuts straight, to the chop saw that cuts crooked, and angle grinders with cutting blades.
Welding is predominantly stick. I have a cheap flux core, wire feed, but it provides very little in the way of penetration. I'd like to convert it to DC operation, which appears to help based on another thread here, as well as other places, or may just look for a "better" cheap wire feed. An honest to goodness MIG, with real capabilities would be nice, but it's not in the budget. As is a long list of other machines required to be a "machinist". For me, machining is grinding and filing.
The project is a grader blade under my sub-compact tractor. I've had one under a garden tractor years, and for grading, a true grader blade can't be matched. Unfortunately, disabilities are preventing me from using this older tractor, I had to switch to a different tractor with a different style operator platform. I've regretted from day 2 not getting the next larger series, as there is so little clearance under this one, hence the need for very short overall length cylinders, while maintaining some stroke. The cylinders will be lift cylinders on the pull stroke, so the maximum they'll have to pull is 100 pounds or so each, push will provide some down pressure as the never recommended standing on the blade is no longer possible.
Dang, that got long, I tend to do that once I get going.....