Here's the finished product. The rering naturally bent up about an 1/8 inch higher than the rest of it, and at one point was raised higher than the bearing edge. I sanded it down with 220 grit sandpaper and now it's nice and smooth and flush. The one mistake I made early on was that I didn't put a scrap piece of wood between the clamp and the rering, so there are a couple clamp marks in the wood. Damn. At least it's on the inside. Other than that, I think it came out pretty well. I polished up the shell with Novus 2/1, and cleaned, polished, and waxed the hardware. I cleaned up my 16x18 while I was at it. Here's the finished product.
Side note - does anyone know how to attach portrait pictures that don't automatically adjust to landscape?