<font color=blue>Why not cover the entire outside area with brazing?</font color=blue>
I could have left the patch covered in brass and maybe should have. But I just couldn't stand the suspense! I had to grind down to the plug to see how it fit after brazing. When I made the plug, I made it to fit a 1/16" or so proud of the casting surface. The "after grinding" picture doesn't show real well that the plug is still slightly proud of the casting. The edges are feathered down to the casting surface.
Inside, some braze material coated the floor of the casting. I ground it down some, but left it raised a bit to add a little strength. Still plenty of clearance for the bearing that sits on top.
I could have left the patch covered in brass and maybe should have. But I just couldn't stand the suspense! I had to grind down to the plug to see how it fit after brazing. When I made the plug, I made it to fit a 1/16" or so proud of the casting surface. The "after grinding" picture doesn't show real well that the plug is still slightly proud of the casting. The edges are feathered down to the casting surface.
Inside, some braze material coated the floor of the casting. I ground it down some, but left it raised a bit to add a little strength. Still plenty of clearance for the bearing that sits on top.