My horizontal mill has a bronze nut for the table feed screw that is,
in cross-section, shaped like a pillow block. Like many of those nuts,
there is a wide cut most of the way through it, about a half inch from
one end.

I've always understood that those cuts were there to allow a bit more
life for a worn nut, I'm guessing by squeezing it together or opening
it up with a wedge. Have I got this right?

John Martin