Thanks guys.

The door latch post has been bugging me since I posted it. A lot of the stuff that used to be around here is now gone, but I think I've found enough stuff to give you the idea how that set up would work. i've got 8 pictures, and your are going to have to go along with some things being different then they are.
Pic 1, This is what is called a captured nut. The solid square block has a hole that is threaded for the correct bolt size. That nut sits with in the sheet metal cage. The 4 ears that were cut off would have had a cross strap at the top of the cage, and another cross strap at the bottom of the cage, and would have held the nut in place so it couldn't turn, but could shift around.
Pic 2, This is what the underside of the nut and the cage look like. Notice how large the square hole is? The bolt or post would pass through that square hole and thread into the block. Until the bolt was tightened, it could "float" around in the square hole, which would be the adjustment this caged nut would have. The amount of adjustment is limited by the size of the hole (it doesn't have to be square), and how much movement the nut has available in the cage.
Pic 3, Pretend this sanding disc is a piece of 18 gauge or 20 gauge sheet metal. The nut cage is usually attached to the back side of this sheet metal, with the holes centered on each other. This metal could be your door post, or a piece of metal you are adding.
Pic 4, Pretend that this is the post bolt, and it has the same threads as the captured nut. Also pretend that there are more threads (of the correct size) on the end of the bolt. The real bolt would also have the step up from the thread size, like this bolt has. The large outer diameter washer has the hole in it that won't go past the step up on the bolt. That step up that stops the washer movement from going up on the bolt is what tightens everything together. You would loosen the bolt, move the post to the position as needed for your adjustment, then tighten the bolt so the washer holds everything tight. Often there are 2-3 washers stacked up under the bolt step. Those extra washers are used to set how deep the post intrudes into the door. The head of the bolt enters into the cut slot on the door latch, and the latch jaws lock onto the bolt shaft. The head is inside of the latch so the jaws can't slide off the end of the bolt. Because of the way its set up, the bolt has to be long enough for the head to clear the jaws, but it also has to be short enough it doesn't make contact with the door itself. That stack of washers determines how far into the door the bolt head goes, more washers, the head goes deeper, less washers and the head gets closer to the jaws.
Sometimes when you are building from scratch, or repairing a torn out post, the depth of the bolt into the door becomes critical. You can stack as many washers as you need, as long as there are enough threads left on the bolt to screw into the captured nut, or you can reduce the number down until there is only one washer left, but there has to be at least one washer.
One more note of importance, the outside diameter of the washer has to cover the hole in the sheet metal. Gene