I made this today - in the basement, as it's far too humid to work outside.
I started with a 2" trailer ball; old, rusty and beat up. Sorry, no pics. Suffice to say it had seen it's share of abuse. Cut off the flange and nut, then chucked it in the lathe. Using files, I cleaned up the outside. Then, I drilled, bored (my first boring job!) and tapped the hole in the end. That got me to the stage shown in the first pic. Had to take about .090" off to clean it up.
Next, I made the aluminum mandrel, and mounted the ball on that. Using a carbide bit, I slowly took off the neck and rounded it to match. I made an adapter (polypro) to match the shifter in the car. Then I sanded. And sanded. And sanded some more. Finally, a bit of a polish on the buffing wheel. Hard to tell, but it's nearly a mirror finish.
Weighs in at 15.6 oz with the adapter. I have considered cold bluing to help prevent rust, but I'm not sure that will hold up eiter. The boss said I could nickel flash coat it at work. For now, a bit of polish ought to keep it looking nice. I'm going to give it a go this evening, and see how I like it.
