Yep, the cork washer compresses against the timed breather, and that's how camshaft float is controlled. It seems the theory here is that the cam takes a lot less abuse than the crank, the latter being a lot heavier and contiuously hammered by explosions in the cylinders.
My measuurement method was with the cush drive is off (as, I think it must be for any method).
1. Assemble the crank with the main bearing up against the crank web.
2. Assemble the crank cases with the crankshaft installed.
3. Block up the crankcases on your bench so that the end of the crank doesn't touch the bench. (Right now, I can't remember which end down I used, but I don't think it matters. Choose the side easier to block-up as the downward side.)
4. Lightly tap the up end of the crankshaft with a soft hammer.
5. Use a dial or electronic caliper as height gauge and measure from the crankcase to the end of the crankshaft. Mark the spots on the crankcase and crankshaft where you took the measurements.
6. Remove the blocks from under the crankcase and let the end of the crankshaft rest against your bench. (If the bench is not soft, protect the crankshaft threads.)
7. With the weight of the crankshaft and crankcase all resting on the end of the crankshaft, lightly tap on the crankcase with the soft hammer.
8. Measure from the crankcase to the end of the crankshaft using the points you previously marked. (All while balancing the works on the end of the shaft. Great fun.)
9. Subtract the smaller from the larger value and construct a shim stack of the same thickness minus 0.0005"-0.001". Try to put thick shims on the outside of each end of the shim stack.
10. Remove the bearing and locate shim stack between bearing and crankshaft.
11. Reassemble and test end float using the same approach.
In one post, I believe one of our members created a sacrificial bearing that could be easily pulled with a conventional puller. To see a home-brew puller I made, you could look at
http://www.a7a10.net/forum/index.php?topic=368.msg1717#msg1717 .
Just remember, I am a kludger and there may be more elegant ways to get the job done.
Richard L.