R5's dome rotation upgrade 1.6 - metal ring

My co-worker Steve, who's just a little bit handy with welding, said he'd be able to roll and weld up the new lower dome ring. So I drew up some sketches and talked through what would be needed. He then took the metal strip home over the weekend and got to cutting and welding.

this supplier has materials & options available to be cut to your own required sizes.

Metals4U

The cut material didn't need much deburring, only along one edge. This option is available on contacting the company. Steve welded on four 'tabs' that would be drilled and countersunk/t-nut's fitted to the wood part of the ring. The ring then screwed back in place onto the dome itself.

Welded ring with location tabs

This just shows the fit and tab position. The bearing isn't shown, hence the tab to wood gap.

Next was to mark and drill fixing holes in the tabs.

Next was to then press fit in the t-nuts and screw in the counter sunk bolts.

And of course, the test fit on the dome (held in place for photo)

The gap was needed as wanted to ensure correct fit, and wood being wood, it's not perfect lol. The gap fill be filled with fiberglass & resin, then smoothed off with filler.

This metal ring add's strength to the lower neck.