breadboard ends

[johnnyb]

I'm considering making an island kitchen worktop with breadboard ends. anyone got any hints or tips who have made a successful pair?
not fussed about methods more about details to make it work. what i mean is if youve used dominoes biscuits thats fine. or traditional.

 

[--Tom--]

This was how I did the last ones I made

 

[MARK.B.]

I made a kitchen table from maple several years ago for a friend and just used biscuits and glue on the bread board ends,they have not fallen off or shown any signs of movement, i guess you could use domino's or dowels but have not done any with these, there may even be a fancy router cutter that would give a good fixing.

 

[yetloh]

I hate them. The result always seems to be an unsightly misalignment as a result of seasonal movement. I much prefer honest, nicely finished end grain, but if they float your boat I'm sure you will get some good advice here.

Jim

 

[Jacob]

This was how I did the last ones I made
View attachment 156008

The text book example! I've done the same.

 

[Jacob]

I made a kitchen table from maple several years ago for a friend and just used biscuits and glue on the bread board ends,they have not fallen off or shown any signs of movement, i guess you could use domino's or dowels but have not done any with these, there may even be a fancy router cutter that would give a good fixing.

You've been lucky then! What tends to happen is that even if the wood is dry it gets damp at some point and expands, then instead of shrinking back it splits.

 

[Fitzroy]

This was how I did the last ones I made
View attachment 156008

I made them like this but the thing I would change is a fully housed tongue, seeing the end of the T&G is not as neat as it could be.

 

[johnnyb]

many thanks it's for an island bench arrangement. the breadboards will cover the legs. probably easier to explain with a couple of snaps.

 

[johnnyb]

pic showing shape of worktop

 

[johnnyb]

so the idea is to have a low bench that can be used as needed but tucked under the island in normal use. I will make one bench from this rather rare book.

 

[johnnyb]

the island will have 6 or 8 drawers and the worktop will be a decent 23 inch wide. also if they don't get on with it it can be converted to a standard large island with stools only with a new worktop.

 

[Nelsun]

I've done a few Domino breadboard ends with no major problems [so far] but, as yetloh mentions above, seasonal movement results in misaligned edges... if only slightly.

*clickity google clickity* Here's the process I followed but with the DF700. And, just to make certain purveyors of this fine establishment twitch, the domino method shows a perfect reason for the sloppy setting being a Thing

The linked video shows 4 ways of doing them but I can't vouch for the other 3.

 

[recipio]

They need very precise machining and a set of long clamps to glue them on. The tenons also need to be deep otherwise it will sag under pressure. I agree that a Domino is the ideal tool to achieve this not forgetting the elongated mortices in the middle.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Tutorial here of traditional method with hand tools ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/BreadboardEnds.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[johnnyb]

because its a stopped cut and I'm very lazy I'm gonna make some wide dominoes and use that method shown on the last video. I'll make sure my domino is nice and square first though!

 

[Jar944]

I prefer integral tenons in a housed groove. I did use the domino to cut the mortises on this one.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I understand the desirability of breadboard ends to accommodate high humidity changes - misalignment of the ends of the breadboards with the sides of the table are secondary to the alternative splitting or distortion of the top.

Aesthetics aside, are they something of an irrelevancy given most homes today are (a) dry, and (b) kept within a fairly narrow range of temperatures.. Contrast with earlier generations when central heating, double glazing, cavity wall insulation etc was a bit of a rarity..

 

[Jacob]

I understand the desirability of breadboard ends to accommodate high humidity changes - misalignment of the ends of the breadboards with the sides of the table are secondary to the alternative splitting or distortion of the top.

Aesthetics aside, are they something of an irrelevancy given most homes today are (a) dry, and (b) kept within a fairly narrow range of temperatures.. Contrast with earlier generations when central heating, double glazing, cavity wall insulation etc was a bit of a rarity..

Actually non BB end table tops have always been the most common at all levels of quality.
BB end only needed in severe humidity conditions such as kitchens , laundries etc, or with wide boards where it's useful to keep very flat. Breadboards for one (what a coincidence!) or drawing boards - though the bigger ones have arrangements with battens behind and screws in slots to allow for movement

 

[johnnyb]

this one is the path of least resistance to avoid narrow short grain over the legs. but it's also quite a cute feature( I'm by no means in love with it but I try and use what I call pragmatic serendipity in design)

 

[johnnyb]

here's the boards drying in situ and the breadboard end giving a idea of the effect.