Using a website like
www.speedymetals.com or
www.metalsdepot.com I got the idea of building something out of solid 6061 aluminum. Suprisingly it's about the cheapest metal there even compared to most of the steel. It will cost around $25 for raw materials then shipping.
I'm gonna do one cylinder something between 4-6'' diameter, 1'' tall. this would be the base.
the connecting rod will be between half an inch to an inch wide, around 10'' tall.
then the top rest part will be a 3'' diameter maybe bigger, and haven't decided on how long to make it.
I'll just have to drill two holes to connect the 3 pieces. could look something similar to this but the top piece would be solid metal.
or I could save a bunch of money and buy one of those $5 lowe's brackets. not sure yet.