There is no way to keep a board from changing dimensionally.īreadboard ends are a mechanical means to overcome a board’s natural tendency for one side to expand or contract at a greater rate than the other. Straight away you should know that, structurally, breadboard ends are strictly used to control cupping they are not meant to stop shrinkage or expansion. When one face moves more than the other, the board ends up bowed across its width – this is what we refer to as cupping. When you look at the growth rings on the ends of the board, the convex side of the rings is generally more active than the concave side. Boards generally tend to cup, or bow, away from the center of the tree.Īlso, wood tends to expand and contract more actively toward the bark side of the tree than toward the heart side.

How much they expand and contract is more a matter of species and final resting place than anything else.Ĭupping. It takes a little understanding, sound joinery practices, proper planning and patience to avoid disaster.īefore you jump into to making breadboard ends you need to understand what’s happening and why that begins with a basic knowledge of wood movement.īoards expand and contract at a greater rate across their width than they do along the length. There are many methods to attach breadboard ends, but only a few actually accomplish the primary goal of keeping things flat. If it’s done right, expansion and contraction problems can be nearly eliminated. Wide tables and chest lids often employ breadboard ends to keep things flat, as well as cover end grain. Discover five cross-grain construction strategies to help keep your tabletops and chest lids flat.Ĭ ross-grain construction tends to freak out most beginning woodworkers, but it’s a viable construction method in many cases.

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