Forgot to Elongate Holes on Breadboard Ends

[Richard Coers]

You don't have to loose any length. cut off the existing tenon and put in a floating tenon.

[John TenEyck]

Overall Table is 90 inches long. Ends are 3 inches wide. Is there a maximum width that the ends should be?
Right now the tenon is 5/16 thick and 7/8 long.

Eddie

That's not a tenon; it's a stub tenon. It might be enough to hold an end only 3" wide, but it would be far better if you had 3 longer tenons in addition to the stub tenon. The stub tenon keeps the field in alignment with the breadboard end. The long tenons are what gives it strength, and also normally where the dowels are located.

So with all that in mind, I would rip of the ends. If you don't have any stock to make new ones, then rip them off at the joint with the field. If you do then rip them off at the outside of the stub tenon, then route off whatever needs to be to get back to the stub tenon on the field. Cut three mortises at least 1-1/2" deep in both the ends of the field and in the breadboard ends. If you had to cut off the stub tenon, then route a slot between the deep mortises at least 3/4" deep for a new stub tenon. Make loose tenons to fit and glue them into the field. Install the breadboard ends and drill holes for the dowels, then remove the ends and elongate the holes in the outer tenons.

Fixing this now may save you some further future pain. If you finished the table with a film finish after the ends were installed, there is a high probability it will crack at the joint when the field expands/contracts. Finishing the ends separately from the field prevents this from happening.

John

[johnny means]

Drill out your dowels and replace them with dowels with a "waist".

[Phil Gaudio]

Wood does move. Here is pic of table I built over 15 years ago: breadboard end was flush with edge when I built it. Make it right.

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[Doug Dawson]

Wood does move. Here is pic of table I built over 15 years ago: breadboard end was flush with edge when I built it. Make it right.

To the OP and more generally: You don’t have to glue any of the dowels. IMO there’s no need to. This would have made the problem easier to fix.

[John TenEyck]

To the OP and more generally: You don’t have to glue any of the dowels. IMO there’s no need to. This would have made the problem easier to fix.

You are correct. There is no need to but there is a benefit, especially if you spring the joint so that the ends remain tight. Gluing the center tenon holds it tightly to the field and takes the stress off the dowel.

John