Once the tread is through the arm, place the joint flat for gluing. Place a droplet of gel superglue on the joint and firmly hold the joint aligned and together for a minute or two (patience is the key word here). You want the joint to be as far away from the casting as possible. The reason for this is that super glue and even the fumes from the glue can badly damage the paint.
Once the glue has set, place the model and glued tread aside. Allow plenty of time for the glue to cure before trying to situate the tread on the rollers. I usually do this type of thing in the evening and let the treads sit overnight.
Once the glue is cured, situate the treads on the rollers and align them to your liking. The glue joint should be situated on the bottom half of the tread and towards the center of the flat run between the rollers. Centering the seam here will reduce stress on the joint.
Here, (circled in red) you can see a magnified pic of the rejoined reproduction tread. If done correctly, it is hard to see with the naked eye. This is a highly effective and simple way to place new treads on old dozers without removing axles and/or rollers. This method also preserves the casting without reducing or destroying the value of the casting due to irreversible modifications.
