I took a look at an old plan I did two years ago for a customer that had the frame type of construction.

The length on centerline was 44.10" long.
The length of the 3/8" square balsa forming the sides and running end to end was 44.30" long.

That is better than a 3/16" difference in the long way around as compared to what is simply shown in the sideview. This is why older draftmen used to draw out the frame for building purposes which translated to correct lengths when shown in the sideview. A simple reason for including a frame drawing on a plan.

The old routine was to build the frame on the plan, then build a second one directly on top of it to ensure any errors were then equal. Afterwhich the builder moved them over to the top view and constructed the top and bottom. Next the semi-circular items got added on, etc.

Is there a shortcut to this?

Wm.