[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by RidgeRunner

You are a life saver, Destroyer. I wasn't trying to deminish your excellent idea, I was just poking at you about drilling the axle with the drill press.

No offence taken or even considered... :) (poking is always cool)

The substrate is clean like new. I have Square 2" OD Galvanized Tubing with stubs that fit inside and get welded in place. Thankfully I will be doing the welding on a heavy duty worktable at a comfortable height (ie no vertical welding because it always looks like a$$ when I am done, I need some serious schooling/practice on uphand vertical, thanks for the tip). If I knew in advance I would be welding vertical I would use the mig next door. Actually I still might use the mig, depends on when the parts arrive. Any drawbacks? You sound like the man to ask.

My only concern with Mig is the danger of light penetration if you're not careful with your heat settings. Stick is old school, but old school is still the weld of choice for good solid welds. Most industrial maintenance is still done stick... quick, fast, portable, strong. But to be honest, I wish I had a mig unit I could call my own...lol

The more I think about spindle alignment the more I think a straight edge and a micrometer may be the ticket. In any case it will be close enough. Worst case scenario, a little extra tire wear, I can live with that since the tires tend to dry rot before the tread is gone anyway.
The stubs are going inside the sq tubing? In that case they should fit just fine... If they are a little sloppy, tilt the tubing on an edge until it looks like a diamond <> and use that inside "V" to hold the stub in place parallel to the tube...then clamp and weld.

(And don't worry if your trailer is next to you as you go down the road... that way you can keep a better eye on it.)