One more thought........
Most people think of pine (construction lumber) as "cheap wood" with little intrinsic value. Not so. Pine is one of the most stable woods. That's why they use pine for instrument molds. The problem is that construction lumber is usually quite wet, dried to 13 % at best. To solve that problem, just set aside a few pieces for a number of months (even weeks in the Summer) and the moisture content will fall dramatically (as will the weight).
Just My 2 Cents,
Duffy
