[jacob_dilles]

whats the (effective) diamater of the plate? or more relevently, what is the surface area that the aluminum has to grip? i.e. 1sq" or 15sq"s?

i couldent tell you off the top of my head what it is, but there is an equation for friction coeficents between diffrent materials. however it sounds like it would work. some advice however, roughin (sp?) the aluminum (not the plastic) with some hevey grit sandpaper. also, consider some type of centering device depending on how much weight is on the wheel. do the plates have to keep it trued also? or can the unkeyed hub bear weight. if your just using it for drive, youd be suprised what 30 or 40 ft-lbs of torqe on some bolts can hold. however depending on the traction of the wheel you may need more bolts...

also there have been some problems (do a search) with people keying aluminum plate. the steel keystock rips right thru the aluminum key, making the slot wider and wider untll it becomes unuseable. a steal shaftcoller epoxyd or heat fitted onto the alumunum would do you good.