After trimming the plates to size, I used a counter sink on all the drilled holes to accept a #6-32 x 3/8 flat head screw. A machine screw reaches full strength in just 2-1/2 turns, so the screws do not need to be very long. After machining the face of each wheel flat, I clamped a ring to each wheel, lining the holes by eye.
The plate was already drilled with #26 clearance holes, so I used that drill to just spot the locations on the cast iron wheel. I put a center punch mark next to one hole on each plate. I kept the plates with their mating wheel and kept track of where the first hole was on each. I then drilled the castings with a #35 tap drill to a depth just short of the flange.
I carefully tapped all the holes by hand (No, I did NOT break a tap).
I have been using West System epoxy for many years. Unfortunately their price has been going up lately. I had recently run out, so I bought Total Boat epoxy instead for just about half the price of the WS epoxy. As near as I can tell the products are identical. Even the pump handles appear to have come out of the same mold! The only difference is the color of the plastic. Make sure all the parts are cleaned of oil and tapping fluid before gluing and screwing the parts together.
I let the epoxy set and harden over night. I mounted the epoxied wheel on the face plate and used an indicator to make sure the circular runout was less than .005 inch. I machined the inside edge, the outside and the face to the same dimensions as the all cast wheels. I haven’t decided how the centers will be built up yet. One step at a time.
Wouldn’t it have been easier to just buy 4 new castings and make all 8 wheels exactly the same?? Yeah, it would have, but I am retired, I have plenty of time, I want to use my collected stuff, and I would rather spend my budgeted hobby money on things I don’t already have in a box somewhere.
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