Yesterday I started the test. I used my countertop roaster oven and used walnut cooking oil. I had enough oil to just cover the 1/2" wood. I started at 200 degrees and let the temperature stabilize in the cooker. Next I raised the temperature 25 degrees every 15 minutes until I got it to 300 degrees, then let the wood "cook" for two hours. After the two hours were up I moved the trivets to the "press"; one cinder block on the bottom, one bamboo cutting board, then the trivets, another cutting board, and finally five cinder blocks stacked on top.
I'll give it five days to stabilize before I check for flatness.