end table trouble

[Joe Mcclaran]

I finished my end table and it looked good. I finished it in January, some time in July I looked at it and the top had expanded a little. The wood was dry I thought. How can I keep this from happening. I used oak for the hole project.

[glenn bradley]

Even dry woods move with humidity. The degree of change will vary with your geographical location and weather conditions. January and July are at opposite poles of the year, so to speak, so most places would see movement between these months. Other locations are very wet in fall or very dry in winter. This is why you see so much discussion on proper joinery for wood movement.

So basically, you can't keep it from happening but you can build to expect it; pinned breadboard ends on tables, floating panels in doors, tongue and groove panels for cabinet backs and so forth.

[Matt Meiser]

When you built it, it was probably very dry, and the air was probably very dry. Then during the summer when the humidity goes up, it expands. It will probably keep moving for quite some time. I have an end table with breadboard ends on a 24x24 top. During the winter it used to shrink about 1/8" less than the breadboards. During the summer, depending on AC usage, it would expand to about 1/8" more. This year its been cool and not very humid and is about 1/16" short. It seems to have stabilized a bit in the last year or so. The table is probably about 7 years old now, and made of red oak.

[Frank Drew]

So basically, you can't keep it from happening but you can build to expect it;

Exactly; well-dried wood doesn't mean permanently stable wood. Even under finish, it will tend to take in and give off moisture seasonally, depending on where it's located. I think, though, that the amount of movement diminishes somewhat over time.

[Joe Mcclaran]

Thanks you guys! i did put bread board ends on the top, thinking that would stop some of the movement. I guess I feel better about it if you all have the same trouble. I think the next time I'll use plywood for the top and trim it with bread board.

[Matt Meiser]

On the bright side, the breadboard ends probably kept it from warping.