there are a range of methods to achieve breadboard ends that are fully
functional and none that will avoid shrinkage

if both sides are going to be visible it sounds like a dowelling job to me

One way to reduce the visual impact of shrinkage is to first of all make the
piece so that the ends are "just a wee bit" shorter than the table's width
.... I am talking 2 millimetres at each end at the most - then chamfering the
corner where it meets the table .... but just a little and the table corner
as well .... say a 3 mm chamfer on both ... it just "knocks the hard corner"
off each and when the movement happens - and it probably will - you have a
bit of leeway. Finally, I wrote out the exact brand, mixture etc of stains I
used on the top and glued it to the underside for future reference so that
when I need to, I am not hunting for the correct stuff to get an exact
match.

Cheers

Steve - Melbourne Australia



"D. J. Dorn" wrote in message
...
I'm building a Shaker Chest of Drawers and want to put breadboards on the
ends of the top - and now that I accidently cut the non breadboard top a
tad
short, I'm not really left with a choice (I know, measure twice, cut once)
I'm worried about wood movement over time but don't really want to do a
tounge and groove operation if I can avoid it because they don't ever seem
to line up perfectly (at least for me). Any suggestions or do I have to
bite the bullet and do it like Normie does it?

Don