The rim is aluminum bar stock. I marked the hole locations AFTER forming it into a ring. The ring is closed off with a metal "stitch" but again it's the laminated wood that really holds it together. I laminated the wood before putting in the spokes so they would have something to "bit into" and make bending over the ends easier. The key here is annealing just the ends of the spokes so that they can easily be bent over at the hub and at the rim. No need to solder at the hub because the spokes which are woven under each other pull down strongly and hold the other spokes in place. It really is rock solid believe me. I can't tell any different in strength from the Proctor wheels I used to have.

The rim consists of three elements: 1) the aluminum rim 2) a thin spruce (?) lamination and 3) thin bamboo rods to form the lip.