Originally Posted by
MightyLegnano
Can't you simulate that with a big nut or something?
Yes and no. It's a question of accuracy. Assuming you spread a frame 6mm (3mm per side) that would create an angle change with a sine of 3/300mm or 0.01 (300mm chainstay for easy math). So you'd need truly flat and aligned nuts (not common) and then assuming an OD of 1" or so, you have a gap change roughly 1/100th (.25mm) of an inch between the rims.
That's a lot of accuracy to expect a crude system.
Of course, my post assumes that the dropouts were parallel to start. If not, then you can use Andrew Stewarts method, or a modified version of the 2 bolt method to get them fairly close.
When I align dropouts, I use a tool with precisely ground 60mm diameter faces which I bring to with 1mm of each other. That makes small errors fairly obvious.