The breadboard end, and why it matters

Look at the short end of a wide dining table. If you see a narrow strip of wood running across the grain, that’s a breadboard end. It exists to keep the table flat as the top expands and contracts with the seasons.

The tricky part is attaching it. Glue alone will split the top in a winter heating season. Our shop uses a floating tenon and elongated pegs — the breadboard stays where it belongs, and the top is free to move underneath it. A hundred years later the joint is still tight.