I am not so sure Mr Matt!!. The torque is rated at oz.inches hence if the rating is 40 oz.inches that means you will get 40 oz of torque at 1 inch servo arm length (correct me if I am wrong).

Ths slop should be LESS, all things being equal.

So, Ian's idea would work if he has an inch of servo length and he will get the full torque. Also, Digital servos (assuming Ian is using them) have higher HOLDING torq and develop their full torq at smaller movements than linear ones.

Ian, if you can get the geometry right, use the smallest servo arm you can to achieve your desired deflection and I think it should work. But place the servo (use metal gear ones) in the middle of the surface if you can and run 5 cells!!