In a message dated 6/18/01 8:43:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> The fault, Dear Brutes, is not with the set up, but with the lumber.  With
>  few exceptions, the dimensions will be pretty close when the stock is cut.
>  Unless very dry lumber is used, there can be significant dimensional
>  changes, especially with soft woods.
>
  Many shops that work with wood use a gadget called a "Delmhurst Meter" to
measure the conductivity of the wood and thus arrive at it's percentage of
moisture.
There are other methods that work such as drying a measured sample and
comparing it to an undried sample. In as simple an oven as a light bulb
heated coffee can or a microwave oven.
  Tables that list radial and tangential shrinkage rates for all species of
wood in commercial usage exist courtesy of the forest products laboratory.
  Once back in the weather wood is going to move. And box shipped to the
southwest is going to end up a lot smaller than one shipped to the humid east
coast.
I would rather things were on the large side myself, comb is easier to break
than is propolis.
  A rod or bar that was removeable and held frames down in their boxes while
the one on top was being pried loose might be more usefull. No doubt it has
been tried and abandoned a few times before.