Crappy joints on purpose - how to?

Joe:
Years and years ago I went through almost the exact same thing – build me a dining room table with the planks slightly seperated, maybe a little taper on every edge.
I built it, and yes, I used cross planks underneath and doweled the top planks to the cross planks, barn door style.

And after about a year or two?

All I heard was:
“Get rid of this dumb thing, I am sick and tired of cleaning spilled food out of these cracks!”

Looks great if you can keep it clean…lesson learned.

-- Paul, Tennessee, http://www.tsunamiguitars.com

Good tip (and ammo). I like the overall style – chunky and square with huge breadboard ends, I do not like the plank look. Every bone in my body wants to make seamless joints. I’ll raise that issue and see if it gets me anywhere

-- www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

you can use a v-grooved t&g. Use a very slight v which gives the appearance of separation and helps eliminate the issue Paul speaks of.

-- Master hand plane hoarder. - http://timetestedtools.com

I thought about that too Don, but it may look too “on purpose”. I’ll try it out on some scraps and see what it looks like.

-- www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

That example in the picture looks like the boards on top
are nailed to a substrate.

If you glue it up and use breadboard ends you have to
account for wood movement.

-- http://lawoodworking.com

your other option is a ship lap, but then you have the original “food in the crack” issue”.

My table has a crack like a separate board, and my wife doesn’t complain, but the crack is more like 1/16”

-- Master hand plane hoarder. - http://timetestedtools.com

Have you considered gluing a 1/8” or 1/4” strips of a different wood between the planks. You could have the look with out the cracks.

-- "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right". Henry Ford

Joe, 30 years ago a friend and I worked as carpenters at a large apartment complex in Atlanta. The super wanted some tables for outside use that looked “Rustic”, “Elegant” “Not Picnic tablish”, and easily cleaned.

We got pine 2×12’s, planed them (by hand with crappy planes), and cut bread board ends using 2×6’s with M&T joints.
The boards were nailed to cross boards for support using cut nails to give it a rustic look. the spaces between the top boards were spaced with a nail as a spacer then routed with a 1/4” bit 1/2” deep. The spacers removed and the boards shoved together.

finish was some combination of extra cans of stain that turned nearly black, top coats were Spar Urethane Varnish.
Those tables sat on public patios for about 5 years and still looked good. they eventually got used for other things after remodeling but were in good shape

-- Improvise.... Adapt...... Overcome!

I am still learning how to do joints. So if you want crappy joints I will come do them for you :-)

I do hate leaving the gap.

-- Mother Nature created it, I just assemble it.

When I was in High school I made a table just like that and what I did was chamfer the edges with a chamfer bit then use a sharpie to black the bottom to resemble a 1/16 gap. Then after gluing them up I filled the chamfer in with clear epoxy and then finished. The result was the visual effect of the rustic planks with a continuous smooth surface with no gaps to collect debris.

-- If guns cause crime all of mine are defective Randy

Hand plane the v groove bevel for that “not machined” look and ship lap em like Don says. Depending on your finishing schedule the freshly planed bevels will take a little different than a sanded top.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Just plumb an air compresser line by the dining table to blow out the salt and crumbs.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

Notice how that breadboard end is pegged, so that when the timbers shrink, the gap opens up. I have made a couple of tables like this, tongue and groove, the t&g planks are not glued together, the breadboard end is glued at the outside edges and centre. Prefinish the tongues before putting it all together, so you don’t end up with an unfinished line between planks when they shrink.

My two pence: make it out of pallet wood and stain it ;)

-- Holy scrap Barkman!

I don’t allow pallet wood in the house. I know a lot of people use it but that stuff is nasty.

Renners, that sounds perfect and the way to go. So if I understand you correctly, just T&G the all the boards, leave them loose (no glue/stickers) and breadboard the ends. Should I peg each board, or every other board since the outermost and the center will have some glue?

-- www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts