In my experience end float of the crank can be felt rather than eyeballed, even 002" end float will make a definite clunk when you push/pull the crank. You can just about see the movement of a few thou as well.
It's Obviously more accurate to measure it though, but if any shims have fallen apart the extra sideways movement should be obvious. I've not had to make a decision on what excessive end float would be enough to make me strip an engine for that issue alone....maybe 005"
Up and down movement of the crank I reckon is a really a measure job as the clearance is less and the weight of the crank etc makes it difficult to detect movement by feel, if you can feel it then I reckon it's almost certainly strip down time, but obviously it's worth measuring it before making that decision.