: Hi Elliot

: You are right in that the whole thing is about the forms lying straight and
: true. You can do it either way. If at all possible, try to straighten your
: strongback, but if the cutout in the forms is slightly larger than the
: size of the strongback, you can play that a little and still align the
: forms on it.

: Try to take out whatever bow you can in the strongback first. If it is rigid,
: but has a built in sag, attach it to the end forms first, with the beam
: turned over to see if you can affectively take the sag out by pressing it
: down into place. Then attach it to a third stand in the center. If it is
: bowed from side to side, then it may not be so easy unless the stands are
: heavy enough to pull the bow out. In any case, If you can't pull all of
: the bow or sag out, then you have another option.

: When you cut the forms out ( which you obviouly already have ) open the holes
: up a bit for the beam and you will be able to adjust them by moving them
: around on the beam, up and down or side to side, until they all line up.
: If the beam is twisted, this may also work.

: MY solution would be to build the beam again, as it IS very important and
: will save a lot of hassle adjusting everything, but, I realize that most
: folks can't afford to do that, so, the above options should help you get
: on with your Expidition. Hope this was of some help! I think you pretty
: much already had that figured out. Good Luck!

: Rehd
The beam itself is in great shape it is just the side to side thing constantly moving the forms a little here a little there. As you know im sure ,the beam is strongest vertically. however not as strong side to side. i am using 3 of the stands mentioned in the book so there is no sag there i will just have to shim the stands to make the strongback perfectly level as my basement floor is not. once i have the stands set i am wondering how to keep them in the proper plane so if i kick one it doesnt screw everything up again. I would hope anchoring the things to the floor is not the answer. Oh well such is life, thanks for responding Rehd. Elliott