Roscoe, the axle doesnt care about how the wheel attaches.
For a lug-nut attached wheel (or a knock-off wheel), the wheel attaches to the hub. The hub has the wheel bearings inside it and the wheel bearings ride on the spindle. The spindle, in turn, mounts to the axle (for a straight or beam axle).

For spindle mount wheels, the hub and the wheel are one piece so the wheel bearings mount into the hub/wheel. There is still a spindle in the setup that still attaches to the axle.

For the skinny wire wheels that you see on the front of a T-bucket, most use a modification of a motorcycle type wheel....where the hub is a part of the wheel and to which the spokes attach. However, there are wire wheels that use lug nuts....older Fords had wire wheels with lug nuts in the 1930's. It's just that the wheel has a heftier look if the setup has the larger center to contain lug nuts.
Do a search for Wheel Vintiques They sell several styles of wire wheels.

mike in tucson