I certainly didn't mean to imply that one should be measuring the lateral force, I'm just trying to point out that it's going to exist: glad you can "see" it!
Now can you picture that a ball "head" at the top and bottom would result in zero lateral force?
I don't see the need for all the heavy steel: the weight could make things more complicated. Then again, one could achieve 100 lbs clamping force with barbells, I suppose...
Lateral forces are going to affect the effective contact area, between the heat die and the block, which is in turn going to affect the TIM joint.
Then again JoeC was able to get some pretty repeatable results, but I'd challenge him to turn the water block around (and in several other orientations), and see if he even gets results in the same range: if he mounted the block in relatively the same position, I'd have no doubt that the "repeatability" would be there..
8-Ball: I didn't ignore your suggestion, it's actually a good one. We're just trying to sort out how it's all going to align together.
I gotta read that article again: I can't quite see the advantage of it over springs anymore...:shrug: