Lawn mower axle "repair"

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"repair" as in better than it was.the axle is fine, but there is this little metal cup that is welded to the front axle on my riding mower.The purpose of this cup is a dust shield and to keep the grease inside the wheel bearings.  it also acts as a "stop" so that he wheel can't slide to far inboard on the axle.somehow on mine, the center part of the cup had worn away and the only thing keeping the wheel from sliding inboard was the rubber dust cap on the outside.i've got two of these mowers and one had better bearings, so i was swapping wheels around to make one "good" mower out of two marginal mowers.so i stole a washer from the older one and welded what was left of the dust cap (the outer ring) to the washer. making a functional dust cap and wheel stop.just made a few spot welds with 1/16" 7014.  didn't see the need to do a full weld all the way around.  i probably should have, but that cup was really thin and burned through really easily.  I always find myself doing these projects that require welding on such thin metal.  which sucks, because i'm really not that good, but i seem to make things work, even if they aren't the prettiest.As you can see, the original tack welds weren't exactly perfect, but they did make a good stop indicator so i knew where to weld the "new" one.did my best tack welds with 3/32" 6011.a little bit 'bird poopie' but they serve the purpose.now, i gotta order new wheels so i can have two mowers again.thanks for reading.
Reply:That will work. You could run some caulk around it with your finger to help keep dirt dust out.
Reply:I'm sure it'll work fine like that for years. I had a axle spindle like that break clean in half where the wheels mounts. I welded it about 6 months ago all the way around it and so far it's holding up.
Reply:wouldn't the 6011 have been a better choice tacking the washer to the worn cup instead of 7014?i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:I always question myself about that 6011 rod wich is to my view, not suited for fine detailed jobs. My go to rod for this job would have been 7014,6013,7018.  gee it's not a loader bucket. if someone has valid argument to make me change my mind about 6011 feel free to say so, i'm all ears
Reply:Originally Posted by docwelderwouldn't the 6011 have been a better choice tacking the washer to the worn cup instead of 7014?