I recently did mine. You do want to get the column trammed separately first on the mini. It's also a pain, because you are going to have to scrape or shim and either way you are going to screw up the side to side tram while trying to get the front to back right. So you get to do both over and over and ...
I put an indicator on the column and ran it up and down the edge of the blade of a (supposedly accurate [but not really]) machinist's square held blade up, parallel to whichever direction I was checking. I used heavy duty aluminum foil because it was thicker and mine needed quite a bit. I'm pretty sure you are reducing rigidity when shimming as opposed to scraping where it would be potentially increased. One thing to remember; put the shims at about the 10 and 2 o'clock positions. This keeps the compression over the ways. I tried in the center (12 o'clock) and only succeeded in temporarily warping the cast iron. Build up both sides equally. And tighten the big nut TIGHT and recheck. But make sure the side to side is good before you get it much more than snug because it isn't going to want to move otherwise, even with a dead blow hammer. The shim positions are assuming yours leans toward the table. Both of mine did.
Have fun! Bwaa ha ha ha ha!
