end grain on table top

Re: end grain on table top

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I think the most beautiful tables have no bread boards, the ends are just there, elegant and simple. So if you can plane the ends so the pores are closed and/or treat the ends with a tiny amount of pore filler, it will be fine.

Pam

I agree

Jim in Burlington On

>Perfectly planed endgrain is quite nice to look at.

Me too ..

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Bob

End grain has a special look that is fantastic when planed smooth. I much prefer to finish this way that add breadboards. Of course, there is endgrain in a breadboard as well, but I find it more fussier than I like.

A recent sofa tabletop in Cherry:

.. and another in Jarrah:

Sorry, the examples do not show much endgrain detail - all I had on file for illustration.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Also

VTAndy4

>there is a pic in the latest FWW (article on children's furniture) of a desk with hewn end grain -- I thought it looked great.

Re: end grain on table top

Bob Sobieck

>Thanks All! I have made my decission - simpe with planed endgrain.

I have one LN plane - it is an adjustable mouth block plane and I am fortunate to be able to get it razor sharp. It is a thing a beauty! I wish I had more LN. As a side note, I just made a Krenov smoother with the Hock blade. Seems ok may need more tweaking to do the job right. Also finishing a LV wooden spokeshave kit - it too needs more work. Both have the symptom of "clogging" even with really fine shavng. I may have errored too conservativey on making a "thin" mouth"..........but I guess thats another post later.

Thanks again, Bob

Re: end grain on table top

"RJ" Whelan

>Bob ... the other nice thing about not using a breadboard end is you don't have to deal with inevitable expansion and contraction of the field boards. Of course certain style look more correct with breadboard ends ... rj

Re: end grain on table top

ThomD

>I don't think that generally planing the end grain will close it? It's a good thing to do but you will have lots of exposed pores. Normally it isn't a problem. I did once seal a table top endgrain with epoxy, it is not in any way visible, and it does make it more stable.

Breadboards are interesting, but they rarely really neaten things up. They can result in everything from explosive spliting to differences in the dimesion at the BB when the seasons change.