dough board, bread board whatever they are called

[Warren Lake]

Very good friend would like one of these things.

Cross grain will be the first thing to address. First off what is the proper name for these things? She gave me this photo and looked like it was in a small Mennonite place. I looked up under pastry boards, some have a strip of wood on the bottom so they dont push away, this one doesnt. I could make a removable thing as well.

To my thinking if a thing like this was made with dovetails at the back corner they should be on the side and not the back. Same as a drawer to work with the force direction.

3/4" thickness for the bottom? think so. 1/2" lighter but think best to have some meat there. Weight a thought and likely use soft maple as I have it here.

Cross grain expansion can think of a few ways but for sure it has to be allowed to move and not pull apart anywhere. O cam pin it in the middle and allow both the front and back to move, the back can have a rabbet there and if it pulls forward a bit wont matter. front a reveal so any movement doesnt show

Dont think they get washed maybe just wiped with a damp towel will ask.

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[Jim Becker]

Doesn't matter what it's called. :)

For wood movement, I'd do things fixed at the back (portion toward the viewer in your photo) and have any floating toward the open end. This is not unlike an applied molding on say, a dresser, with the molding on the sides floating toward the back.

[Warren Lake]

my moldings are glued on solid at the front then float towards the back. Right now initial thoughts on this are middle makes more sense and split the movement front to back. I do want to know what they are called.

[Mark Stutz]

All of the boards I've ever seen that were called dough boards were flat without sides. Seems like flour would get caught in the corners.

I'm with Jim. I would attach at the back, and use stopped sliding dovetails for the sides, leaving them slightly short of the front.

[glenn bradley]

The bakers among our group also use boards that are not unlike a bench hook. there is a lip on the bottom at the front to catch the counter and no sides or back. This makes rolling a problem so I assume your client rolls elsewhere. There is always more than one way to skin the cat. Glued along the back with sliding dovetails along the sides would be my approach. That's the problem with sliding dovetails. Once you use them a time or two they start to become the answer to a lot of things -)

[Jim Becker]

my moldings are glued on solid at the front then float towards the back. Right now initial thoughts on this are middle makes more sense and split the movement front to back. I do want to know what they are called.
Wouldn't doing it in the middle make for an issue with the closed back which is presumably fastened to the bottom? That's why I was suggesting the sides float toward the open end...there's nothing constricting them at that point.

[David L Morse]

"Noodle Board" is the name I see sometimes.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I made one for our use here, not to look nice but just to be convenient, it's a piece of 3/4" particle board with cherry edge strips and a piece that sticks down at the front to keep it from sliding away while rolling or kneading, with a sink cutout piece of Formica on the top.

[Warren Lake]

jim it can probably be doneseveral ways but for the back id fasten the bottom at the sides near the back so it can expand and contract and it would sit over a rabbit. Where i want the movement will depend on how I do the front. Will have a reveal there for sure. Nothing stays flush. when I pull out some materials and get stuff in my hand ill see more common sense.

I dont see sliding dovetail at all as they have two sides. Maybe im missing it. The base of this is on the bottom there is no second side for a dovetail its not like a cabinet with a rail going from side to side and fitting into a sliding dovetail slot.

[Alex Zeller]

Still new at woodworking so this is more of a question than an answer. I assume the side to side movement isn't a problem it's just front to back. Could you glue the back (the piece in the front of the picture) to the bottom, connect the sides with a dovetail (as in the picture), and then connect the sides to the bottom with a sliding dovetail? That was my first thought but I'm not sure of the sliding joint could get food in it that couldn't easily be cleaned.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I made several for pie bakers that was quite large about 24" square. Each had a 14" circle routed into the center of it it about 1/8" deep. For pie bakers it was perfect because one could throw a lump of dough into the center of the board and roll out the pie dough to the exact thickness required for pie dough and the 14" was more than enough to fit into the bottom of a pie pan, with plenty extra to seam the edges. These gifts were loved.

Just an idea, if you're looking for ideas.

[Jim Becker]

You can use an elongated keyhole slot in the sides and pan-head screws for the portion that will be "sliding" rather than a traditional sliding dovetail. A small dovetail bit could also be used to create the keyhole slot for use with small flathead screws. All of this is hidden once completed...you don't glue anything until you have the right and left screws adjusted snug and then only apply glue at the fixed end. This kind of thing will work well if you have a design like the photo where only three sides have components wrapped. If you decide to do four, than you'll want to consider using plywood for the bottom rather than solid stock to all but eliminate wood movement issues. (grain on solid sides must run horizontal so any movement is in height rather than length/width)

[Chris Hammersley]

Noodle board is the name I have been seeing. I see alot of them on facebook and youtube marketed as "stove top covers" People leave them on the stove for extra space and just pull them of for cooking use or use them as serving trays.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Think of the bottom as a raised panel. Flush on top side, and raised on bottom side. Glued and pinned at front only.

[Warren Lake]

we were taught to do drawers tongue and groove and that applies here. I thought about that and thouhgt id prefer a rabbet as i can use some sort of floating system. Ive done that several ways. Pinning at the front, thats a good idea as its not pinned at the front with a piece running accross like the back.

[Bruce King]

I made a serving tray with 3/4 cherry years ago. Used box joints and glue on the ends/handles. No back. Nothing has moved or cracked in 22 years. Wood movement on small projects using 3/4 thick wood is over emphasized. We use this a lot now for a table in the truck for take out meals.

[Warren Lake]

not at all, ive looked at work for 40 years and seen people who didnt think so either.

[Jim Becker]

we were taught to do drawers tongue and groove and that applies here. I thought about that and thouhgt id prefer a rabbet as i can use some sort of floating system. Ive done that several ways. Pinning at the front, thats a good idea as its not pinned at the front with a piece running accross like the back.

That would work as long as you work out the tenon/panel edge length and groove depth so that it covers the anticipated wood movement for that particular wood species and is adjusted for the particular season you're building in. You want it so it will always stay in the groove and not bottom out to the back. This would be cleaner than the sliding dovetail or similar idea although racking could still be a factor with no fixed apron on the open end.

I'm really glad you posted about this, Warren...it's a very thought provoking project! I'm now considering doing something like this just to do it.

[Warren Lake]

that type of joint would likely work better for a drawer than this application. We were taught that for drawers but I felt bottom line for a drawer is the mass produced dovetail. Then better from there depending on the piece.

Rabbet is likely a better choice for this, then it can get a bit more complicated if stop dadoes are used. I understand the possibility for wood movement and respect it from seeing all the fails over the years just back up what the old guy taught.

Sorry but I dont get the sliding dovetail at all other than if it was a very small dovetail there would be not enough meat on the bottom of the side left and it would be weak, the concept is good but this not in the middle of a side, its at the bottom of a board.

[Mark Stutz]

In the early 1800's they would have just attached the back and sides with cut nails. That would be a reasonable option, since they will allow for the little movement you are likely to see with this piece.

[roger wiegand]

As a pretty serious lifelong baker, a descendant serious bakers (and pasta makers) who taught me, I'm having trouble understanding how/why you would use this. Are they for people who don't have a wood table or counter to work on? Or does it enable something else? None of my grandmothers, great aunts, or great-great aunts and grandmothers I knew had one and we covered both German and Italian traditions. Do they come from someplace else, like Scandinavia?

Don't get me wrong, it looks like a nice project, just trying to learn what my baking life has been missing.

[mike stenson]

@ Roger, yea... my wife's been throwing a wood board on a countertop with a non-slip pad under it for years.. literally as long as I've known her. These seem to be pretty much that, with a bench hook built in (I'm not sure I understand it being boxed in, at most I'd add a low back, so you have two working sides.. hey, it IS a bench hook then!).

[Warren Lake]

when I reshingled my roof. Pretty much every one of the 7 inch pine boards was loose. They were put on with nails. All the holes were well oversize from movement. I get more changes its a roof. I ripped the boards in half per the certainteed manual and stapled with 2" heavy Sencos with glue on the tips. It was solid. No interest in nails on a thing like this. Get they allow some movement. Seen enough fails over the years from movement.

Here is another style. Also one where they didnt know or care about movement. Not ideal considering what its used for.



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[mike stenson]

I've seen a lot more wire nails fail than cut nails though. They wedge in, well.

[Jim Becker]

Warren, the style in that first picture is the one that looks more familiar to me...with the hook on the front underside to keep it from moving farther onto the counter while working the dough. I use a variation of that for my regular cutting board...the "hook" is to the side so it stays at the left end of the island.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Going back to my original post, one thing I would change is to make the last couple inches of bottom on open side of tray a sliding dovetail, with no glue. This would hold open end of tray together, while allowing for wood movement.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Remember, whatever the length of the baker's rolling pin is, plus a couple inches on every side would be functionally correct. The raised sides, while an interesting detail is more like a serving tray, than something a baker would use. The raised sides would get in the way, unless this is very wide and very deep.

But I like to bake pies and pastries. If your baker bakes smaller profile items and won't use a rolling pin, then you're good.

[Billy Merrill]

In may part of the USA.
Post #1, that is a chopping block used to chop or slice cooked meats like whole hog. Have one. Search Ed's Shape Shack on Facebook for some of the finest ones made.
Post #8, first picture: Pasty or dough board. The cleat keeps the board from sliding when kneading doughs. Have one as well, but use it to trim meats since it stays but on the counter.
Post #8, second picture: Something grandpa threw together with whatever he had to satisfy grandma, and she loved it.

[Warren Lake]

I put the last photo to show what can happen when people dont pay attention to wood movement.

The sliding dovetail like i said dont see it its not mid cabinet. its at the bottom edge of the sides and would be weak to machine that there.

The tongue and groove joint we were taught on drawers would work fine, even though its harder to pin than a rabbet would be but it would not need to be pinned., only the front glued and fastened then the bottom could move in the slot with no issues.