Project Frog Princess
I guess during the night ADD got to me and I dreamed up a way to get the axle to move a little further. It involves another love of my life that makes my wife jealous - my tractor. It still took three heat and cool cycles but it is much closer now.
I also took the other side apart and did a light grinding on the welding surfaces as as I remembered reading somewhere that a sandblasted surface does not take weld all that well.
Everything is tacked in place again.