It would be impressive to see a skilled welder perform that task (I am not that welder). I think I'm gonna try the plasma gouging technique, mostly because I'm interested to see how it'll work.
The other one I'll try Dana's idea and then use a LH drill bit on the mag drill. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether the drill will be too big or not. We shall see tomorrow. I appreciate all the input so far.
@Syleng1 You're absolutely right -- it's nerve racking taking things apart when you don't know what's coming.
in your case this may have been a Lefty Tighty application…. Lol
You could have a pilot hub made in which the nose fits inside the lug hole to keep it centered and a pilot hole in the center of that to guide a left hand bit and keep it from walking towards the threads .