To do hand inking right, it seems I need roller bearers (though my wife is able to do a fine job without them). They help hold the roller precisely level and avoid too much pressure on one side or the other of the form. Consulting the books by Allen and Rummonds yields several ideas.
Allen writes that the bearers should be slightly taller than type high, the exact amount depending on the condition of the roller. Rummonds suggests that type high is adequate if using a firm roller (say, 40 durometer). I bought two pieces of brass bar, each 1" x 1/4" x 14", and got a friend to mill them down to type high. He actually milled both top and bottom so they ended up flat and parallel. Quite inspiring to watch him work: very careful, very precise. These are locked up on either side of the form. It's probably worth filing ramps on either end of the bears; that is, filing them down slightly below type high for perhaps an inch, to help avoid the abrupt transition.
Allen describes a way to achieve removable roller bearers. Use a combination of 4-pica furniture (layed sideways) and 1/4" brass, yielding 0.917", just 0.001" under type high. This could be built up slightly using some sort of tape. I tried his idea, using another 2 bars, each 1/4" x 1/2" x 9". By flanking the furniture with a pair of slugs, we get a U-shaped tray that holds the brass bar loosely in place, making it easy to remove it after inking.
 In the picture above, we can see how furniture combines with a couple of slugs to yield the U-shaped tray.
 Above, we can see the relation of the tray with the rest of the form. Below, the same layout, but with the removable bearer sitting in place.  Finally, here's a picture with both bearers in place, ready for inking. In case I've been unclear, we put the bearers in place, then ink the form using a roller that spans the form and bearers. Then we remove the bearers and print. Then replace the bearers, re-ink, remove the bearers, print another page, etc.  A part of Allen's inking scheme is a way to avoid inking the bearers themselves, which would seem to contribute to overall neatness.
My impression of Rummonds' approach (and I need to study it more) is that he inks the bearers and allows them to print on the frisket, but protects the frisket with plastic tape, allowing him to clean off built-up ink.
The results with roller bearers are very much better than without. I expect I'll mostly use removable bearers when feasible. The removable roller bearers have an additional advantage in that they can be obtained off-the-shelf from Online Metals, with no machining required. I used their brass flat bar, 1/4" x 1/2". You may have to neaten up the ends with a file.
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