The Forestry Forum

any of you guys have any tips?

I saw a mention of using a sliding dovetail somewhere, but I have no idea how to make that happen with power tools.  that would be pretty slick to do it that way.

my top is 34" wide, I think i'll do either 3 or 5 tenons.  I have a mortise machine so that part's pretty easy.

I figure i'll use a guide and a circular saw to hog off most of the material along the way for the tenons, and clean everything up with a chisel.

I did breadboards on a blanket chest top using sliding dovetails.  There is a post in this section on it (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=25894.0). 

However, at 34" wide, the approach you are considering should work well as long as the table is free to expand and contract in the breadboard.

Mortising both pieces might be easier than trying to get a perfect cut along the tabletop.  Loose tenons glued into the table mortises will be just as strong as cut tenons.

i figure it would be easier to cut a tenon on a top that's 6 feet long than to wrestle it so that I can make a square mortise....

I'm sure it's a lack of technique on my part, but I can't ever get tenon shoulders square all the way around. :-\  That leaves me with a slight gap. >:(   The loose tenon technique has saved me from lots of frustration.

So, what style table are you making?

a redneck one.

i have a folding table in my kitchen with a really beat up MDF/papered top on it.  I can't complain, i've been beating on it for 9 years.

So i'm making a replacement top of some white oak that I have, and want to put the breadboard end on it for practice.