This is in response to several questions on wood movement. Almost everyone here knows that wood moves with relative humidity; some just don't know how much. Since I work mostly in maple (it is similar to oak, hickory, cherry and other American hardwoods), I used a maple table top end offcut as a gage. My shop is air conditioned in the summer and central heated in the winter (typical of local house conditions). I measure the stick about once a month and record the length, date and moisture content with a moisture meter. The meter always reads 8% (yes it does work and gives different readings on purchased wood); the date and length do change. Today the length is 25 7/8". The minimum recorded is 25 7/8 and the maximum recorded is 26 3/32".
I copied this method from someone else (don't remember who or when) and use it to determine how much movement to allow for in a finished piece of work. You can look up (several good sources) how much your wood will move with changes in relative humidity. Knowing the starting point (the stick and present humidity) and possible end location (humidity range) will let you build to allow for that movement. This is a simple gage to assist in determining what will happen to your project when it leaves the shop. Wood must be acclimated to the shop humidity for this to work.
I will post a picture in ABPW of my stick. Comments should be made here.