"Clint" wrote in
news:A_b9e.1072902$Xk.963401@pd7tw3no:

Thanks for the input from everyone. I was going to "templatize" the
project anyway, so my first step will be to cut out all the
appropriate pieces in some 1/2" plywood I've got kicking around. I
figure if this one goes well, I'll probably be making more. I'm
planning on using the Wood Magazine's version; see how that goes.

In the meantime, I'll probably wait till the middle of next month
before I get too agressive in cutting wood for this project. If I can
find someone with a moisture meter, I'll take a board over to their
place and see what's up.

I'll also try to post some pic's in the binaries group, if anyone's
interested.


If you don't need a moisture meter for another reason, I wouldn't bother.
Weigh a sample board every week or so, and when it essentially stops losing
weight, it's ready for your purposes. This kind of project is pretty
forgiving. It's what my dad calls 'country work'.

Very few people want to sit on the back porch with a frosty beverage in a
priceless Chippendale...

Patriarch