I ground the fork tips to make them thin enough to slip across the bearing (my now bearing wasn't as thick as the old one). Think about how the fork works when installed. If things are adjusted correctly, the fork tips will be slightly behind centerline (there's a bit of an arch to the tips for this reason) and move forward form there. So the tips need to be able to slide across the bearing and pivot . Just take you time grinding and leave a smooth surface for the bearing to ride on (LOTS of test fitting).
I recommend looking at the adjustments. To adjust fork angle you have to adjust the ball (you can buy new balls that have long threads so you can cut to length if you need to, but I would look at the ball last after other adjustments are correct). To adjust travel (and starting position) you have to move the nuts on the rod from the fork to the z bar (I spent hours working my nuts down this shaft; probably worth replacing but if you do check the article I have at the bottom). I highly recommend taking the zbar out and checkign it for damage especially where the arms are welded on (I had an arm nearly twist off the first time I took mine out).
Lastly, you mention how hard it is to depress the fingers. First of all, it's heavy duty truck manual clutch linkage, so it's no Honda. Nonetheless, If the bearing slides front to back easily by hand, then the only way to adjust how hard it is to push is where on the fork you put the linkage. I have mine all the way out in the last "slot" on the fork. This gives the most leverage. You need to be sure everything is adjusted properly though so that you go from no contact to full disengagement and
not part way. after welding the z bar I had to move the nuts on the linkage nearly 2" to get the bearing to sit just off the fingers at rest. That's what you want, so that as soon as you press the pedal you are contacting the fingers, but not before. I belive that if your starting point is right, then the travel is such that the clutch will be fulling disengaged, but pay attention when you start driving it that it's not partly engaged when you have the pedal all the way down (does it pull forward at all with the clutch down, tranny in gear on flat ground?).
Check the below article as I plan to switch to spherical rod ends before much longer (there's just too much play in my joints; lots of wear; especially for me on the block-pin that is adjusted by the nuts on the rod from fork to bar)
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ild/index.html