This is the way I solved the problem, granted unconventional, but I believe this to be the best approach for me. I'm sure there will be comments from the perfect world that I don't intend to live in, but the alternatives were in my mind much more arduous. If anyone believes this to be a logical approach to solving their mis-aligned strut and wants more information, please ask.
I used a 1.25" reduced shank S&D drill bit and put a .5" ID and 1.25" OD sealed ball bearing on the reduced shaft end of the bit. This provided a fulcrum point to apply pressure to the tip end of the drill only and helped keep from overloading the drill. By applying pressure in the opposite direction + ~30deg from where I needed to remove material while moving the bit in and out, I was able the cut away the inside of the strut bearing casing at the top aft end where needed. To further clarify if the top is 12 o'clock, I applied pressure at ~7 o'clock. I only figured this out from elongating holes in the past, (which gave me the idea of doing this in the first place). This probably has something to do with the drag force of a spinning drill bit, or something? From previous measurements I needed to remove ~50 thousandths from the top aft to correct the alignment. This took about 1 hr using frequent oiling. The cutting went slowly at first, but towards the end, as the bit had more of an angle, the cutting went faster. I doubt this approach would work without considerable difficulty on a larger diameter strut casing.
After inserting the cutlass bearing and checking that the alignment was correct by inserting the drive shaft. I then cleaned the oil off with acetone and applied a marine grade epoxy to the inside of the strut casing. I then placed a rubber stopper in the end of the cutlass bearing, (to keep the epoxy from getting inside) and inserted the bearing while rotating it to insure it was well spread.
I removed the cork and inserted a 16" piece of 1" tubing with a wedge against the hull forward of the bearing to force the aft end up. This was probably unnecessary because the set screws I turned in probably would have worked just as well, but just in case.
After the epoxy set, I removed the tube and inserted the drive shaft and it looks pretty dam close.
If the bearing ever needs to be changed again, just heat with a torch, that will destroy the epoxy, should come out easier than before as long as you don’t need to do it in the water.
