Ok, I had a little time to monkey with this again...

Next step: bore the heel to 3/4 and press/glue a piece of dowel in place





Then a little stem drillery



Now, after the glue dries a bit, the next step is to poke in a spherical heel





After that, we're done with the stub of the dowel so we knock it off with a parting tool...





...and belt sand it down to match the cob.


At this point it may look done except for a bit of stain but not so! Stay tuned, there's MOAR!!