I loved your comment, George.
Tks.
Scott: The cap/finial part is likely the easiest part of this thing. The clip on an El Grande is usually sandwiched between the finial and a plated "washer" with a groove in the washer for the clip tang to sit in. I just toss the washer, push the part that the finial screws onto down into the tube the same distance as the thickness of the clip ring, then file a groove in the tube and blank to replace the one that was in the washer. That way, the clip now sits flush with the top of the tube/blank and the tang uses the filed groove. When you screw on the finial, the joint darn near disappears. The clip is now sandwiched between the bottom of the finial and the top of the tube/blank.
To back up a bit, to do the finial itself, I just turn the plastic off the brass part, then screw it onto the cap "naked". Drill a small piece of the blank and glue it onto the brass finial so that the pattern matches up. Then just turn the cap and the finial at the same time to get a perfect alignment in diameters.
I hope this is clear. It's really not a difficult process. It was harder to explain it than to do it.