# Breadboard ends, few questions.



## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

Been reading a lot in prep for my table, I see people do BB ends different everytime. I see one long tenon, multip shorter ones. Which is better?

Would a drawbore dowel be necessary for pinning?

Also, how tight should the M/T be?

Finally, how much roughly should i account for movement on my mortise?

I'm using 1-7/8" thick sapele the table will be roughly 46" wide by 62" long.


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## Willeh (Dec 30, 2011)

I did a trunk with bedboard ends about a year ago and ended up just doing biscuits.. has held together perfectly so far anyways…


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## BigMig (Mar 31, 2011)

I met Mario Rodriguez at an event where he was showing a blanket chest he had made. It had breadboard ends on its top and he pinned the tenons in oversized holes in the tenosn to allow the differential movement, but still kept the breadboard attached. Also, I think he only used glue in the middle of the breadboard to allow for movement along the rest of its length.


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## TarHeelz (Sep 13, 2012)

This webpage goes through the method I followed for a dining room table. The page has been recommended a number of times. (I had to read it through carefully a few times to feel good about it.)

http://www.beautifulwood.net/html/breadboard_ends.html

If the design will allow it, there's a lot to be said for cutting the ends a little wider than the table planks.


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## DMC1903 (Jan 11, 2012)

I use Norm's method for building Bread board ends, never had an issue wth them.
Here is a link to his video on creating them




Enjoy


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I planned on making the BBs extend a tad passed, i think it will look good.


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## MNgary (Oct 13, 2011)

Expect change in width to be 3/10 inch for each 15% change in relative humidity and 1/4 inch change in length for a 46 inch wide by 62 inch long tabletop of sabele.

The breadboard end will decrease/increase 1/5 inch in length with a 15% change in RH.

Note the change in dimension isn't immediate when the relative humidity chages. The above is after the RH has been changed long enough for the wood's moisture content to stabilize at the new RH.


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

MNgary,

I think you've misinterpreted the wood movement factors. Most authorities say that longitudinal (length) movement is typically less than 0.1%...

The change in length of the breadboard is not the significant factor (nor is the change in length of the main panel.

The significant factor is the change in width (cross-grain) of the main panel. As it changes relative to the length of the breadboard ends the design must provide for movement. Typically the breadboards will be either pinned or glued in either the center (allowing for movement of both the front and back edge or on the front, allowing movement to the back.

Herb


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## MNgary (Oct 13, 2011)

My dimension changes may be wrong, HerbC. I didn't have the change coefficient for sabele in my dBase so used the wood movement calculator on woodworkerssource.com

I agree the change in length seems high.

Edit: my error was I used radial result for length calculation - dumb mistake!


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

So leaving 1/8" gap on each end in the mortise should suffice?


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## MNgary (Oct 13, 2011)

If it were my project, I'd determine length of the breadboard and its mortise based upon moisture content of the wood at time of assembly (relative humidity wood is stabilized at). I.e., if the tabletop is stabilized at a very high level of humidity vs. quite low RH or somewhere in between.


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## Willeh (Dec 30, 2011)

TarHeelz, thanks for posting that link! That was a great article about how to do breadboards properly. I was looking at doing a harvest table this year and now i think i know how i will go about it!


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

One other thing i want to ask. The table with be roughly 48" long WITHOUT the breadboard ends, the stock i have for the Bread boards is 8/4 maple. 7" wide. Would that be too wide for a bread board? Or should i cut that in half?


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## mbs (May 8, 2010)

I would cut it in half to make it look more appropriate for a bread board end.


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