OK. How did they make this simple thing?

DTBoss

New User
Dan
Vintage Bread boards.
As in, the things bakers used to make bread on or sometimes slide dough in to the oven with (also called a 'peel'). Now the things people serve pizza on, or just hang on their kitchen wall.

In the photos below, I get the reason for the two cross grain pieces of wood. They keep the boards flat but also allow for some expansion/contraction. What I can't figure out is just how they are attached to the wood. I don't see any hardware or pegs. Nothing comes through the back side. I can't imagine they'd glue them in a dado, and a sliding dovetail seems way to labor intensive. What am I missing?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Screen Shot 2019-07-23 at 12.33.01 AM.png
Screen Shot 2019-07-23 at 12.32.26 AM.png
Screen Shot 2019-07-23 at 12.32.34 AM.png
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
"I can't imagine they'd glue them in a dado, and a sliding dovetail seems way to labor intensive."

Interesting question. Either option would have worked.

Where did you see these boards (Etsy)? Just pictures and very little description given?
 

DTBoss

New User
Dan
"I can't imagine they'd glue them in a dado, and a sliding dovetail seems way to labor intensive."

Interesting question. Either option would have worked.

Where did you see these boards (Etsy)? Just pictures and very little description given?
Yes. Saw on etsy. They didn’t know wood species or construction method. They just got them from a very old French bakery.

Was thinking glue might be a problem as it would not allow a wood movement.
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
Very interesting pieces. Too bad there isn't a side view. I love the patina on those boards but many of you could match it I'm sure. And maybe one of us could try to duplicate those boards and show the rest of us how to do it.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I found them on Etsy. About a 13" diameter made from reclaimed wood. Other pictures show them with wood battens, not dadoes or sliding dovetails.

 

DTBoss

New User
Dan
I think that I found them on Etsy. They're used as a charcuterie serving board or as a bread slicing board. It is 13" diameter so wood movement should not be an issue. It looks like there are battens fastened to the board and not dadoes or dovetails but you can't see that with a straight on view.


Look at these from the same website and you'll see the battens.

Yep. That's them. I see the battens, and it does look like they're not dovetailed (at least not on the bottom pic). Though curiously, they do sit proud of the edge of the board which says 'wood movement' to me. If they weren't so pricey, I might just buy one and figure it out!
 

DTBoss

New User
Dan
Look here.

I could be wrong, but on that board it looks a bit like the batten itself might be tapered. I'm going in circles on this! o_O
 

nn4jw

New User
Jim
I spotted one of these type boards on eBay. From the description it has a 19-1/2" diameter, a single spline and as Mike said it's dovetailed. One thing I don't know is if the individual boards in the round were spined, glued, loose or what.

187636


From other sources these type boards were used for transporting multiple loaves of bread and not for cooking on.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
That's interesting. Where did you find that information? Mike said it was dovetailed but how do you know that? The picture is clear about that.


I spotted one of these type boards on eBay. From the description it has a 19-1/2" diameter, a single spline and as Mike said it's dovetailed. One thing I don't know is if the individual boards in the round were spined, glued, loose or what.

View attachment 187636

From other sources these type boards were used for transporting multiple loaves of bread and not for cooking on.
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
A tapered sliding dove tail leaves more room for error and wood movement. It also made replacing damaged and or worn boards easier.
 
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nn4jw

New User
Jim
That's interesting. Where did you find that information? Mike said it was dovetailed but how do you know that? The picture is clear about that.

I knew it because the eBay seller said so in his description - as I indicated when I said "From the description".
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I knew it because the eBay seller said so in his description - as I indicated when I said "From the description".

Thanks. I didn't catch the dovetailed part "from the description".
 
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Hjanes

Harlan
User
One might try heating / over-drying the rough batten before fitting it snugly into the dado, then letting ambient humidity tighten it. One thought.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Look at the last picture in this series. It look like a couple of the bread boards have battens and not dovetails. Unfortunately the picture isn't a full side view.

 

Steve Martin

New User
Steve Martin
There is an old fashioned router, sometimes called a mother-in-in-laws tooth, that will facilitate cutting the groove for the dovetail, or the modern version, a router.
 

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