Need help with Farmhouse Table Breadboards

[Larry Broderick]

I need some help with getting breadboard on my table. I built a table top out of 2x8 rafters out of my 1850 barn. My wife wants to keep the saw marks do the boards were cut to size denailed and sanded with 120grit. I then used biscuits to join the boards together. The table is 48 inches wide. My plan was to use a tongue and groove to attach the bread boards with pegs. I used my router and a fence to cut the tongue on the table top. Then I used my dado set to cut the groove. Because the boards weren't jointed and planned they have cupping. The tongue is very uneven in thickness due to the cupping and one end turns up so the bread boarsd can't go on. How can i attach the bread board? Is more for appearance then to prevent cupping. I plan on encasing the whole table top in epoxy so hopefully movement don't be an issue.

Any ideas on how to attach the Breadboards?

[Wayne Lomman]

The best way would have been to clamp a straight piece of timber to the top and run the router on it so that the tongue was straight. It's worth still doing this if you have enough timber to work with. Otherwise, get out some hand tools and hand fit it. Cheers

[Jerry Miner]

This is an issue with using "reclaimed lumber" when you want to keep the surface texture but the boards are not flat. There is naturally some compromise involved.

Is there enough material left to re-cut the tenon straight? A straight, flat reference for the router (rather than riding along an uneven table surface) would be a good start-- could be a flat board or piece of plywood laid on the table. But you may have to sacrifice some of the "texture" in order to get close to flat-- or sacrifice the fit of the table-to-breadboard end (end won't sit flush with a wavy surface).

If there isn't enough material left, you can: a. Shorten the table and cut new tenons, or b. cut off the tenons and use "floating tenons" instead (i.e. cut mortises into the table ends and insert loose tenons)

[Larry Broderick]

I will build a jig out of a 2x8 and clamp it to the table top. Ill have the router ride the 2x6. I should have enough timber left on the tongue. Hopefully this will work.

Would screwing a 2x8 on the bottom neat the ends help straighten the top? Then when the bread boards are on I could remove the 2x8s.

[Larry Broderick]

If I do decided to go with a floating tenon, how would I cut the mortis in the table top with uneven boards?

[Jerry Miner]

I would clamp an L-type jig to the table and use a router, like this:

377667

(unless you have a Domino, of course!)