Tabletop with breadboard ends

[Stan Johnsey]

I want to make a tabletop with breadboard ends out of glued up 1 1/2" thick #2 pine purchased at the local big box (actually Lowe's). I want the table top to be ~3'x6'. I want to buy 2x10 or 2x12 and rip it to 4" - 5" and turn the resulting strips so that I have a pretty good top surface. I will biscuit and edge glue these together.

The tenons on the end will be cut on my table saw with a dado head. Blind mortise for the ends will be cut with router on table.

I have read some of the article on gluing the center and leaving ends free with a dowel in elogated hole to secure end.

I am not an experience woodworker. What problems am I likely to have? Will there be a problem working with wood from the big box at is still too wet? Will I have a problem if the "smile" on the end grain is not all facing the same direction?

[Mike Cutler]

Stan

A lot depends on what is the intended purpose of this table. Is it meant for a work surface that must remain flat? or is it going to be a nice outdoor table?

You will have trouble with stability using construction grade lumber that isn't kiln dried.
If it were me I would look at using gorilla glue for the glueup simply because of the inherent moisture content of the wood. The gorilla glue actually need some amount of moisture to work properly.
Yes the correct method for doing a breadboard end is to peg and glue the center, and leave the ends free to expand/contract by using elongated holes. The material you are planning to use is going to expand/contract a lot so center those pigs in an elongated hole that is pretty generous. It wouldn't surprise me if you had a 1/2" to 1" amount of movement. across the width.

Milling the material is going to present a problem. It is going to release tension as it ripped. Plan on not getting perfectly straight boards off the tablesaw. Cut them "fat" so they can resized individually to the required dimension.
Glue that table top up as soon as possible. The same day you get the wood,and pick the straighteset, truest peices you can find. Alternate the end grain pattern and lock it in place. Individually those boards are going to twist, and bow very quickly, so they need to glued up quick to work against each other as much as possible. Secure the ends with strongbacks/cauls until the the breadboard edges are cut and the end piece can hold the top flat.
Even doing this you are going to get some movement. I anticipate some potato chipping across the surface, but once the breadboard ends are on and the top is affixed to the base structure you should be able to minimize the effect.
I've built tables like this and they actually come out kinda nice. Not fine furniture by any means, but nice serviceable tables for utilitarian purposes.

Work quick and you should be okay. 2x4's actually can make some pretty stout quality work benches.

[Brian Peters]

Not much to touch on the above post is well put, just steer clear of the big box home depot lowes stores for buying lumber. Most of it isn't kiln dried correctly if at all and the way they store it is unacceptable. Not to mention big box stores actually charge more for lumber like poplar and maple than lumber dealers do. Shop around and see who sells the good stuff, if you don't have all the tools to mill it down don't worry - most good dealers offer surfacing like s2s, straight lining or s4s to spec for only 10-40 cents extra per foot.

[Stan Johnsey]

This will be the top for a utility table so it doesn't have to be perfectly flat. I will alternate the grain in hopes of avoiding top much warping I will check out some of the independant lumber yards to see if they might have some better quality wood at similar price. Ya never know. Turns out the local independent place had 3/4 Oak USA made plywood for the same price that Lowe's had it.

[Brian Peters]

Shop around, it never hurts to. The best thing you can do starting out is to find out who all of your best local suppliers are for lumber, finishes and hardware. Doing fine woodworking stay away from home centers for wood and finishes - it's cheaper and will only make the craft more frustrating for you. The pine they sell is barely construction grade, always twisted full of knots and defects, isn't dried properly and as I said is stored improperly, vertically. You would be surprised what the temp/humidity difference can be up at the ceiling and on the floor combined with that it isn't stored in any way that could keep it flat. They do it to utilize a little more space but it turns any possible good wood to junk. Alternating the grain is good, and a good plan to follow in any large glueups but the point is that in order for this to be successful the wood has to be good flat dry wood from the start.

[Stan Johnsey]

Curious, how long would I have to dry outside locally purchased #2 Pine until it was stable?

I am really tryin' to build my skills without spending alot on materials. No use in screwin' up pretty wood.

[Tony Bilello]

Curious, how long would I have to dry outside locally purchased #2 Pine until it was stable?

I am really tryin' to build my skills without spending alot on materials. No use in screwin' up pretty wood.

If your prime purpose is to build your skills, stay away from pine. Construction grade pine is very unstable. When you run into problems you will never know if the problem is with you or with the wood.

You will have much less chance of screwing up with a good quality wood.
Try starting with relatively inexpensive woods such as poplar or red oak.
Red oak is a nice looking wood as is with just a poly finish. The money you spend on red oak will be made up for if you dont have to buy wood conditioners, BLO, stain etc.

[Howard Acheson]

>> glued up 1 1/2" thick #2 pine purchased at the local big box (actually Lowe's). I want the table top to be ~3'x6'. I want to buy 2x10 or 2x12 and rip it to 4" - 5" and turn the resulting strips so that I have a pretty good top surface. I will biscuit and edge glue these together.

Is that construction lumber? Has it been kiln dried to 10% or less?

The reason I ask is that construction lumber is typically only KD to about 19% or, at best, 12%. This means that it's going to need quite a period of acclimating and drying to get to the point where you can make a glue up that will be stable.