I’m making a desk about 52″ long by 28″ wide. I’m going to use a breadboard end on the top.
I made a table with breadboard ends years ago and am not keen on the way the ends are never flush with table edges. In this case, though, it seems like I could fix the breadboard end at the front of the desk instead of the middle and the uneven edge would be at the back where it wouldn’t be that noticeable. I would make the dowel slots a little longer to make up for the extra movement, but can’t see any problems other than that. I’ve never seen a plan with this feature, though. Is there something I’m missing with this plan?
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Mitered moldings under the tops of casework are done this way. Glued and nailed in the front, sliding dovetails towards the rear. Go for it! Let us know the results.
If you like the look of a breadboard end, great. But it's not necessary on a desk or table. The purpose of a breadboard end is to keep a board flat that has no other support. Such as the lid on a secretary or writing desk that us attached only on one edge. A table or desk can be secured from below over most of its width. If done right it can expand and contract and will stay perfectly flat. You can just skip the breadboard altogether.
John, I'm unclear whether you are saying that a cross-grain board on a table with a glued up top at all is unnecessary, or, given that there will be a cross grain board, the breadboarding technique is unnecessary.
It is better to use the structure of the desk below the top to hold the top flat, rather than rely on breadboard ends. As John says, the breadboard ends are only necessary when there is no structure under the top to hold it flat. If the top has an overhang at the front, fasten the top fixed at the back and use slotted screw holes to fasten it in the middle and front. Or buttons or clips.
To answer your original question, yes, it is possible to fasten the breadboard end at the front of the top and have all the mis-match at the back. But in this case it would be better to omit the breadboard end, unless you specifically want the look and the headache.
What jharvey said.
In fact, breadboard ends can have several other purposes besdies keeping a top flat (which they don't actually do, if it wants to bend).
1) They can be decorative - a traditional look, even if not needed structurally or functionally.
2) With tables and desks, they can serve as stoppers to prevent things sliding off the end of the desk. The desk that the PC is on that I'm typing into is like that, with breadboard ends raised about 0.5mm to prevent the desk clutter sliding off each end as I add more clutter-stuff in the middle. :-)
3) Breadboard ends have also been used to lessen the effects of moisture changes on the exposed end-grain of a table or desk top planks. If there are large humidity swings over the seasons or within a particular environment, exposed end grain dries out the ends of the tabletop planks faster than it dries out the wood more central to the top. This causes gaps to open up between the planks at their ends. We have a large thick-topped dining table like that, with no breadboard ends and thin cracks between the ends of the planks, for about 70 - 100mm in. They don't hurt but look unsightly, especially in very dry weather.
Lataxe
I've never seen breadboard ends raised and used as "stops." And they do nothing to stop the top from absorbing moisture. Nothing.
My thought was that I want to have the sides of the top slightly curved and that would look better if it curved with the direction of the grain. I'm not as sure about that idea now but already rough cut some nice walnut so I'm committed.
Breadboards as end grain protectors - they do slow the loss of ,moisture from the covered-over end grain, so there. :-)
In the room I'm now sitting in, there's a six foot by 3ft oak table with a 2" thick top and no breadboard ends. Both ends of this tabletop show the hairline cracks where the differential contractions, from past moisture changes, have shrunk just the ends of planks making up the top to break the glue joints and show them as those hairlines.
In the same room is a 6ft by 2.5ft afromosia desk with breadboard ends. No hairline cracks in the ends of the desktop planks in this.
The desk breadboard ends are also raised above the height of the desktop main surface, in the Greene & Greene style. This style has many pieces of furniture in which such raised breadboards ends are used.
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I repaired a bredboarded desk top where the pins holding the bredboard actually split because of movement.The pins showed on the bottom only.I cleaned up the pieces,elongated the pin holes in the top,hard pinned the front ,and replaced the pins now in the elongated slots.All is well now
I believe one of the purposes of breadboard ends was to cover the less attractive endgrain from view - a cleaner look. And yes I have seen the ends proud of the top as a purposeful design feature.