Hi all!
This is my first post to the forum 
I (very) recently got back into retro-gaming and thought it would be a nice idea to make fight sticks for myself and my wife. Whilst looking around at options I started to think it would be really nice if I could make my own balltops. I started looking into it, with absolutely no knowledge of what it takes, on Monday! Thus far, I’m awaiting a quote on threaded aluminum spheres, and have a seller on Etsy willing to drill custom holes (for M6x1 threaded inserts) into the labradorite they are selling.
At this point I realize that I’m going to be making a lot of mistakes on what materials should and shouldn’t be used, but I’m only doing this for myself to see if I can.
And so I find myself at a sticking point… I need to know the dimensions for holes to be drilled in the labradorite but have absolutely no idea what kind of insert to use. People have told me its something they do but seem unwilling to go into detail so I can do it for myself.
Anyway, my thoughts for my own balltops are the semi precious stones and, when I have the aluminum spheres made up, to get them plated by some folks in Nashville, TN in chrome, neo chrome, and 24K gold. I’ve used them before and they did an exceptional job albeit on a Fender neckplate.
Thanks in advance for any pointers anyone can offer!
