For my bearing pocket scheme, I would put the bearing on the inside of the joint. That way it would require a shorter spacer (a couple of flat washers). No bearing in the cradle carrier. The nut against the bearing would be recessed in the arm, but I don't see a problem with that.dpc wrote: you could always retrofit in situ to Jck57's method since the bearings are on the outside of each arm.
A note about pressing in ball bearings: you don't want to hammer on the inner race. Find a socket that is slightly smaller than the outer race and hammer on that. Better yet, put the socket and bearing assembly in a vise and push it straight in. You can also use an extra bearing instead of the socket and it won't hurt the bearing because you aren't pressing exclusively on the inner race. A press fit is much better than a loose fit. You don't want the outer diameter of the bearing moving around in the bearing pocket.