Bread Board Ends on Reclaimed Wood Tables

There are pros and cons to breadboard ends.

Breadboard Ends are 2 to 3-inch strips of wood attached to the ends of the table. The grain runs perpendicular to the grain of the table.  Breadboard Ends can help to stabilize the tabletop and keep it from bowing which rarely occurs.  Due to color variations characteristic of reclaimed wood, as well as the grain, going the other way, the color of the breadboard ends may not be an exact match to the rest of the table. However, our shop artisans are quite skillful in getting everything to closely match.

Wood is a fibrous material and naturally expands and contracts with temperature and humidity changes. We see this expansion and contraction the most during the first year as the table acclimates to your home environment. Since expansion and contraction of the wood on a table is most noticeable at the breadboard ends, tables often have a V-Groove routed where the breadboard end meets the table.  This helps to minimize the appearance of the wood ‘movement’ at the breadboard ends.  New Wood Tables come with or without Breadboard Ends and these tables tend to expand and contract less than reclaimed wood tables.

Breadboard Ends gives our reclaimed wood tables a ‘country’ farmhouse look, while tables without breadboard ends have a more ‘modern’ farmhouse look to them

Chestnut trestle table without breadboard end	White pine loose board farmhouse table without breadboard ends
Chestnut table top with V-groove at breadboard end	Red oak tabletop with V-groove at breadboard end
White pine farmhouse table with breadboard ends	White oak farmhouse table with breadboard ends
Breadboard end sticking out beyond tabletop	Oak table top showing how a breadboard end can go past the tabletop
White pine farmhouse table without breadboard ends and company boards	White pine farmhouse table with breadboard ends and company boards