From my experience with boxes, and Richard Raffen was a big influence, I don't care how 'dry' your wood is, it will 'adjust' when you remove bulk. So, like Richard, I rough turn all of my boxes before turning them, and hollow out the inside and leave room for movement so I can return them later. For my threaded boxes, I don't go beyond 1 1/2 inch diameter. End grain will still move, and it can move enough so that you may not be able to get the lid off. I did turn a couple of boxes that are in the 3 to 5 inch diameter range. They have moved a little, so if I spin the lid around, I get a little tight/loose/tight/loose as I spin. I figured that since the top and bottom come from the same chunk of wood, they 'should' move at the same rate, and hopefully the lid will still come off, but you may not be able to spin it all the way around.
The extreme version of this are the boxes that Eric Lofstrom makes, and Soren Berger made them also. The fit is about a 3 to 5 second 'drop off' if you pick it up by the lid. A 1 inch tenon and recess. Recess is spot on flat/parallel to the tenon. The tenon is very slightly convex. Eric rough turns his blanks several times over about 6 months. One he had, he would not pass around because just the warmth from people handling it would make the lid not fit properly.
For my larger boxes, I do rough turn them and tape them together. I like about a 1/2 inch tenon and recess, and strive for the 3 second drop. With these, the recess and tenon need to be spot on parallel.
robo hippy