Breadboard Ends: The Joint Most People Get Wrong

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0:00 - What are Breadboard Ends?
1:32 - The Haunched Tenon Version
11:14 - The Long Tenon Version
14:11 - The Greene & Greene Inspired Screw Version
18:06 - The Domino Version
In this video I'll show you how to make four different breadboard end joints that allow for wood movement.
++Want a little more explanation? Check out the full post on our site: thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/b...
++Flat panels are everything! Learn how to make them here: thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/1...
Please note a slight error in the video. I used 10x50mm Dominos, not 12x50mm Dominos.
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[@woodwhisperer]

0:00 - What are Breadboard Ends? 1:32 - The Haunched Tenon Version 11:14 - The Long Tenon Version 14:11 - The Greene & Greene Inspired Screw Version 18:06 - The Domino Version

[@spencerjw]

Perfect timing, about to do this for a coffee table my wife asked me to make. Can you also link to the dowel plate you use?

[@joshhutchison3935]

We q

[@carlroberts2029]

The deep mortises are 2 1/2” wide x 1 1/2” deep. Where do you buy a 1/4” x 1 1/2” router bit?

[@trapman9932]

Marc always explains his process very clearly. What a great instructor.

[@woodwhisperer]

I appreciate that!

[@maskedwrangler]

Thanks so much for this. You have the best demonstration of this I've seen on KZbin mate

[@georgigobg]

I always return to watch this video before I have to make another breadboard joint. It's so valuable! Thanks Mark!

[@chuckythe2651]

Loved seeing the old wood whisper humor. Been missing it. You guys are hilarious thanks for bringing a little brightness to my day.

[@Rabidmoose88]

Absolutely great tutorial! Especially that part where Nicole shows our spouses how to smack some sense into us...😂

[@robertjohnsonjr8]

There is the Marc we all love. I love how you explain things and the detail you go into.

[@hansiejansevanrensburg291]

I just got a job were I need to make 8 four seater tables for a restaurant and the client asked for the wood board still. So this is perfect timing for me. Thanks for giving us a couple options and making it entertaining as well.

[@mattbowers5342]

Best explanation on the technique I’ve come across, thanks!

[@matthewjonkman4024]

What timing! I'm just starting my first dining table project and want to do breadboard ends. Lots of good info in this video! Thanks! 😃

[@jgclarke0352]

Thank you so much for this tutorial. It was truly helpful for a beginner like me. I love how clearly you teach.

[@megangainey40]

By far, the most clear and concise breadboard video I've seen! Thank you!

[@Arrrn]

Thank you for this video! The draw bore really helped me when I made the breadboards for my dining table.

[@michaelneely4333]

Thank you Mark for video. Your timing is amazing. I’m headed to the shop this weekend to do my very first breadboards ends on a dining table and bench. I’m going for the honchoed tenon approach. This video reassured my plan. Thanks again.

[@jonnyboywa]

This video came at the perfect time. I’m doing my first breadboards here in a couple weeks.

[@michaelrybak4189]

Thank you for providing accurate clear information. There is a lot of sub-par woodworking information out there. This is what the people need.

[@pteddie6965]

These were good, clear explanations of a subject that many of us woodworkers are 'fuzzy' on. Thanks for this video.

[@andrewbrown8148]

Great technique tutorial, Marc~! I've not had a project where I would use this, but whenever I do, I'll be reviewing this video again. Very clear & concise instruction. ...and Nicole's input was appropo as well~!! :-)

[@brianrees52]

This video was extremely helpful. I used the haunched tenon method on the dining table I just finished (my first table build)! All the tips you presented were of great value and used, including the little overhang of the breadboard edge on the sides of the table.

[@j.davidslaugh5761]

mostly self taught and now with an amazing amount of help from You Tube, Thank You for this I never heard of it and believe it will be helpful for the next CC Sled I build which will be pretty wide.

[@jnewmy14]

Awesome video. I had no idea there was that many variations of the bread board and the offset dowel hole on the outside tenons is genius. Great video, very informative and well done.

[@nickyfabella3236]

Mark, this is with no doubt the best video I've seen on this topic!! Thank you so much keep them coming!!!

[@TorchAndWillowDesigns]

Best video by far on breadboard explanation. Been doing them forever and I've watched several videos to see other craftsman's techniques and most just don't really understand wood movement. This is a great video and anyone wanting to make tabletops with breadboards should absolutely watch this.

[@josephsones]

Excellent and perfectly lucid explanation. Also, you’re not lying that a lot of people get these wrong

[@johnfisher4910]

You're getting pretty good at this woodworking stuff :) Thanks for another amazing tutorial. This is hands-down the best explanation of breadboards and their construction that I've come across.

[@woodwhisperer]

Thanks man!

[@bbasiaga]

You never disappoint! I bought that domi I and I intend to get my money's worth! I did this on my dresser with dominoes and it has worked great several years on. It's fun to watch the panel expand and contract over the seasons too.

[@bigjj325]

Is there a Patreon level that allows us to purchase more slaps?

[@gpanizzolo6090]

Excelente trabajo y demostración! Felicitaciones! Germán, Montevideo, Uruguay.

[@SommaRob]

Thank you Mark. Just did my first Haunched Tenon version. Of course. I hate sneaking up on the size... It's like I never want to get there. I guess also sir, it's good for game time. Every activity improves something.The router wanted to get away from me a few times and my coping saw did not like me. This Saturday I'll complete the "other side" Haunched Tenon, make the dowels, drill the holes and find what other part of the breadboard ends I did not get straight :) Great instruction, inspiration and delivery to make me think I can do it - As always!

[@BruceAUlrich]

That was great and very kind of you to let Nicole get some of her frustration out. ha ha. I didn't know this screw method was even a thing. I had never seen that before. Good information!

[@woodwhisperer]

Thanks man!

[@qtrk6]

I am really enjoying learning and watching everything you post 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@carloantoniomartinelli5418]

Another excellent video - yet again - Thank you very much !

[@chadwickpainter8212]

Thank you for this video. You made this subject so easy to understand. I have watched several decent videos on this topic but yours has been the best. Great outtakes by the way. You had me chuckling at the end there. I'm going to show my wife that part. I'm pretty sure sometimes she'd like to belt me one having to listen to my yammering on and on about technical woodworking topics. Great job once again man!

[@MrBinkie65]

Great info.... Hilarious fact is there was a pop-up ad for Teds Woodworking on the bottom of the video...

[@jerrystark3587]

Excellent work and a great video. Well done!

[@jgsaad]

Excellent tutorial. I'm doing a cherry dining table with the long tenon version. I have 3.25" breadboards and I used a router bit with a 2" long cutting length for a 1.75" deep mortise and it was definitely pushing the limit. It's not the cleanest mortise but it works. Probably won't try to go that deep again until I invest in a mortising machine.

[@danielschorrerrtrcp7413]

Great video, as usual. I have been watching you since day 1 and reallly appreciate your guidance

[@DynamicJon]

Great video, fantastic pace, very practical, honesty one of your guys' best

[@woodwhisperer]

Much appreciated!

[@0ddSavant]

The lady who slapped you - wife? - she’s got an amazing laugh. And she’s clearly down for anything to help you. Pass this thumbs up along to her. Cheers!

[@salehfurnituredesign]

Perfect job marc i like the way of your work !

[@AndrewDeLong]

We're doing a 4' wide by 100" long 1.5" thick oak table for a customer, and were wonding how best to do the breadboard ends on it. Thanks for the video, it's a massive help!

[@4legdfishman]

Great advice as usual. I most certainly would have done this wrong if not for watching this video! Thanks!

[@qtrk6]

Best WOODWORKING instructor EVER

[@Ticky66MN]

Wonderful video Marc. Thank you!

[@sbs128]

Excellent video. Thank you 😊

[@bothann]

The WoodWhasp strikes! Percussion aside I really learned a lot, especially the little details like leaving the ends slightly proud. Bookmarked for future reference.

[@Manny-117]

That tommy bobblehead is great lol i cant say i ever noticed it but amazing video as always! already cant wait for the next one!

[@claytonbink1647]

It was an extremely fortuitous algorithm which placed this in my suggestions. I have been commissioned to build a dining room table with breadboard ends! Thank you for the heads up. Liked and subscribed!

[@woodwhisperer]

👍

[@justinphilpott]

this video just gave my skills a big upgrade!

[@thewoodlesworkshop.157]

Wow! Good video...! It is very useful to know the different options for performing a particular task. Thank you very much. I always watch your master classes with pleasure. Take care of yourself there.

[@woodwhisperer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@HuntsWorkshop]

Thank you! Your video video helped me accomplish this task with minimal frustration! Also found out pencil sharpener works amazing to round the dowel ends for the sweep!

[@tschuler9923]

I can't believe she'd hit a guy with glasses 😳 Excellent explanation of breadboard ends

[@gizanked]

So glad you are making videos again!

[@woodwhisperer]

Me too. After a week break, it's really nice to get back at it.

[@gizanked]

@@woodwhisperer one of these days you'll make it on youtube, I'm sure of it!

[@brianslocum6823]

This is a great video , I learned a lot and have watched several times. Thank you for posting

[@woodwhisperer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@samposton9101]

Beautiful work Marc!

[@woodwhisperer]

Many thanks!

[@toawreg]

I’m in bed with CV. I got such a laugh with the blooper reel slap at the end. Thank you for all you do for our community. And thank you for the laugh, I really needed it.

[@charlieodom9107]

Wow! Great video! I don't think I'll be doing this any time soon. I hate having that overhang on the top. I'll stick to standard glueups.

[@aaroncashion7570]

Great video Marc. Love seeing all of the options. Keep it up buddy! Now off to see if you have a new TWWBBQ video yet. 😀

[@MESTER47]

Great explaning video. 🤗

[@Kikilang60]

Thank you. This video is helpful. There was a while, I was mostly self taught from books. That's okay, but not ideal. I used to make coffee tables from scrape wood, and sell them to people I knew. I got twenty dollars a table. I was rich. The problem was, people brought back the tables, because they broke. They demanded their money back, but I could see the foot prints on the coffee table. I said, "It's coffee table, not something to dance on." Students are crazy. I learned to make coffee tables, that you could dance on. That was a long time ago. I know someone who makes kitchen cabinets for a living, but he make all his own furniture. He needed a desk for his son, so he made one. It was nice desk, but the top was plywood, with a wood grain formica top. I said, "Why did you put a formica top, on such a nice desk?" He said, "I live in the real world. My son is going to abuse this desk, and formica will take that abuse. " All his furniture he makes, is like that. It's either pretty, or it works. He has a kitchen table, with a bread board end, and each board, has a space between it, and the next board. There is no splitting when you do that.

[@klausalan]

Great video. You’re an excellent teacher dude! Wish I could take some in-person classes with you because it would stick better seeing and hearing while actually making cuts and laying out the lines. Really good work though. Thanks

[@TheNorthlandWorkshop]

Where I live in New England if breadboard ends don’t allow for wood movement the top would fail in less than a year. The summers are humid and the winters are dry. I usually make the breadboard ends flush with the edge of the top so that I can see how much the top expands and contracts throughout the year. Yes, I do check on them because I’m weird like that.

[@jamestaulbee4791]

Nice video. I don't care for breadboard ends at all but great instruction. Thanks Mark

[@chadstites2753]

great video thanks!

[@gtp1172]

This helped out alot, thnx

[@TristanJCumpole]

A nice cheat for the dowel taper is your pencil sharpener and remembering to push the dowel through far enough so that the taper comes out completely....learnt that twi...once. Re: Greene & Greene type pieces, I've made a few smaller tops for bedside tables, etc. using Dominos plus screws between locations, loose on the ends and glued in the centre. Flat-based screws without a countersunk head profile fitted into a Forstner drilled hole bear better without compressing the endgrain too severely. I've considered making a hand-filed bearing washer for the outer screws, but not had to make a top large enough to justify this yet. Engineering! Cheers for this one, Marc/Nicole!

[@rrabbit1960]

OK-the slaps at the beginning combined with the outtakes at the end had me laughing. :D I learned and have used the second method for years (thank you Norm Abrams). The first and third methods I'll have to give a try next time I do a bresdboard end. I don't own a domino machine so it's unlikely that I will ever use that method. Great tips!!!

[@jdmznet]

Excellent video, as usual, and I thank you for it. One thing I do love about all your videos is the sound: I am not adjusting my volume slider as you roll into a montage with super loud background music, nor am I listening to power tools without hearing protection while straining to hear your voice. I adjust the volume according to my auditory environment, not the one created by the video. You seem to be pretty awesome at this sound mixing thing and I wish more people were as well. Thanks for that as well. :-)

[@woodwhisperer]

Thanks very much Troy! I'm pretty picky about sound quality when I can afford to be. Our videos these days are usually edited by a gentleman named Todd. He does the audio sweetening but there's usually a little back and forth as we try to get just the right levels for voice and background noise. Between the two of us we usually end up with something decent. I really appreciate the feedback.

[@Finewoodworkingofsc]

Good information and video.

[@thompsonfamilyhuntingadven4036]

Not sure who was enjoying the slapping at the beginning more, you or Nicole. 😂

[@joegeorge4608]

great vid bud

[@sandersjones1577]

Boy that’s funny, and informative thank you 😊

[@larryhigginson3549]

This probably is basic but for me o tend to get excited for the completed project and push expansion to the back. Always good to be reminded of how to deal with expansion over time

[@mhanley05]

Hahaha "You could always use a drill and a chisel...That sounds terrible!" Where were you 3 years ago with that information, when I was making a door with 4in tenons!?! Now I look back and say "yeah that was dumb and overkill" Great segment!

[@chrishand259]

Nicole: I think we need to do another take... wait one more time... I swear I’ll get it right this time! 🤣

[@parafinishwoodworks9483]

good job guys!!

[@greyspot00]

Just when I'm thinking "yeah, I want to get into woodoworking" I see videos explaining these advanced concepts when I would have just laminated or pocket-screwed them together.

[@MCsCreations]

Pretty interesting! 😃 Thanks a lot for all the tips, dude! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@woodwhisperer]

🖖🏻

[@wardprocter2371]

I really enjoyed the part where Nicole slapped you a couple of times. Can we make that a regular feature on on morning show?

[@SailorRalph]

Watching the out takes definitely sold me on the slap bit. Can you do a video format style where you break common myths to different techniques or builds and Nicole slaps you when you're wrong? P.S. Keep the silly out takes at the end.

[@kaasmeester5903]

Well deserved for using the word "pocket screw".

[@usaf4dbt]

Thank you. I see your granddaughter helped you!

[@larryfinfrock4857]

Great Video Marc! With a two Tylenol ending!!

[@bretthl1]

That was awesome, thanks.

[@woodwhisperer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RunningCordoroy]

I have never heard this guy whisper..... He's good

[@kraven4444]

but Wood has.

[@alexc7136]

Relationship goals!! You guys are great! Love the hammer diversity too!! Lol

[@allenlewis5689]

Novice woodworker here. At first I thought that the screw method looked easiest, but then I thought of two problems. First, when the screws move back and forth over time, might not the holes get worn down and or split the wood? Second, If the screw head tilts underneath the cap, might it not knock the cap out? Great techniques, though, I definitely want to try these!

[@love2doofus]

Replying to an old question that nobody answered. 1. No, the screw flexes a lot more than the threads that are gripping into the timber. 2. Any such pressures won't split the wood. It's only small amount of clamping pressure anyway. Timber is MUCH stronger than you might think. 3. Screws only split timber if you don't drill a pilot hole and a clearance hole.. Learn how to use screws properly, and NEVER use a screw to drill into the material, as you create a wedge that will tend to split. So, that means a Countersink or Counterbore for the Head, a Clearance Hole for the screw's Shank, and a Pilot hole for the screw's Threads. 4. The screw thread won't tilt - there is another inch of the screw's shank under the head, fitting snugly within the clearance hole. 5. The caps aren't usually touching the screw heads. They seat onto the counterbore, whilst the screw head is countersunk below that.

[@duanepoettcker5544]

Love the shirt!

[@Shaka_Vibe]

Wonderful

[@donesry2902]

This is a fantastic and confidence inspiring video. Thank you! I have never seen that screw version before and that has me thinking... I'm wondering if the screws expand the main panel and thus telegraph up to the surface? Or does the sanding to flush up the joint take care of that? I'm am concerned about the domino version for table tops as it will get pushed down every time someone gets up from sitting at end of the table. Also, do you ever put any wax or anything on the outer haunched tenons?

[@dpmeyer4867]

thanks

[@jeterrell2]

Marc - You should clip the scene with Nicole slapping you and publish it as a separate post. I suspect it will be a big money maker for you on KZbin!!!

[@remnard1]

You’re amazing.

[@brandy1011]

Another way to do breadboards is to have a sprung joint between the panel and the breadboard, so without force, the joint only closes at the ends of the breadboard. This negates the need for dowels/screws at the ends. You just have to secure it in the center, which should make it a good technique when using the Domino, since you don't need slots in the narrow dominoes. You could even use a screw in the center to pull everything together and (round) dowels for keeping the panel flat.

[@ramblin70]

That a Tom Silva bobblehead? Great video as always.

[@woodwhisperer]

It is. He stands there judging me every day.

[@forestlampcraft472]

COOL !!!

[@SerhatAkiska]

Mark, great tutorial..! I wonder if the breadboard should still be proud of the table top if you are building the table in the summer heat and humidity? Looking forward to your take and thanks in advance

[@andrewclarkehomeimprovement]

Brilliant, thanks. If you're making a 1½" thick or above table top, you could use a 1/2" kitchen worktop router bit. Here (UK) you can get them 2½" long (63mm) blade so should be deep enough for mortices in the thicker stock. Nice slappy lady should be employed on other videos!

[@a1lewis4]

I’ve been trying to get away from pocket screws in the ends after doing much needed research but I can’t make myself drill holes thru the top or sides. I guess doing them almost like you would a shaker style door would work right? Cut the tongue and groove then glue?

[@roBLINDhood]

Great instruction! Love the slaps! That was a cool looking knife. What was it?

[@ChrisFranklyn]

I can't remember the last time I saw an actual breadboard with breadboard ends.

[@jamesharper1449]

Thank you Marc, best video I've seen yet on breadboard ends - you would have made a great educator! Question about the drawbore holes on the breadboard itself: do you experience issues with blowout on the inside of the mortise groove when drilling through? If so, how best to avoid this, or does it not really matter much (i.e. - just clean up with a file and call it a day)?

[@woodwhisperer]

The mortise blowout doesn’t really harm anything as long as you get the chips out of there. But the easy way to avoid it is to locate and drill your holes before cutting your mortises.