Reply To: Laminating a dining table top
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I found stub joints to be quite stable. If I cut off a narrow strip across the grain, it can be broken next to the glue-line only, the glue seems to be stronger than the wood itself. I think, tongue and groove is used mostly, when the boards aren’t glued together. For example, if you make a panel inside a frame, the panel isn’t glued. Tongues and grooves will keep the individual boards level.
I know three methods to make a table-top. Don’t rely on the following information, because it might be wrong. I am new too woodworking too!
The simplest one is to join several boards together with glue. If this is fixed onto a frame (aprons), it is fairly stable. It can split, if the wood gets very dry, because the wood cannot move, being fixed to the frame.
The second one adds two bread boards to the ends. These provide extra stability and keep the moisture exchange low. You should read Paul Sellers’ blog about bread boards, it explains a lot! https://paulsellers.com/2017/03/breadboard-ends-draw-bore-pins/
The third one is a rectangle frame with a panel inside, which usually consists of several boards. This might be the most stable construction, it is also used also for doors for example.
In your case, I would use the bread-board method. I suppose, you can cut the bread-boards from the existing timber. And it is fairly easy too.
Dieter