Well now that he's soaked the charge, the only way out is to pull it. I say clean the bore to get the soot out, then lightly oil the bore before you pull the ball so there's less resistance.
BTW, there's no need to weld anything to a range rod. Clamp the tips of each rod end into a vice, then center a drill press over the tip. Then drill a center hole on each end of the rod. Tap the thread size you need into each end, then thread on T handle on one side, and your choice of implement on the other. It's pretty darn hard to strip out a T handle or ball puller that's secured to a steel rod via good threads