Hi,
I have a kitchen table that I completed building in October of 2015. It is 6 ft long, made of 8/4 Hickory, and was stained and then finished with 6 coats of Satin Arm-R-Seal. I decided to go with the breadboard look because I think it just looks so much nicer than using strictly 6 ft long pieces of wood. When I was building the table (in September/October) I let it sit in my garage for a few weeks as I worked on the table slowly during that time. When I finally got all of my final cuts completed, the breadboards were perfectly even with the rest of the table like you would expect, they were neither proud nor shy. A short time after finishing the table and then moving it into my kitchen (about a month or so), I noticed that the breadboards had expanded about 1/4" on each side and become proud.
I figured that with the cold weather/moisture changes starting to occur that this was no big deal and that the breadboards would eventually shrink back once the seasons changed. I know here in Michigan, door jambs expand and get tighter in the Winter and then shrink when it gets warm, but from what I hear, that seems to be the opposite of what most other states experience. Either way, it is almost June and my breadboards do not seem to have moved one bit, they are still about 1/4" proud on each side, and I am not sure what to do. I was going to give it a bit more time before possibly taking action, to see what they do over the Summer, but I have a feeling they aren't going to move at all.
So this brings me to my dilemma. I'd really prefer that the breadboards were perfectly even with the table most of the time rather than being permanently proud or shy, as the permanent "proudness" kinda bugs me. I am considering either trying to sand or somehow saw off the 1/4" of "proudness" if the breadboards don't move at all over the Summer, but I'd like to get you guys opinions on what to do first.
Should I just leave the breadboards as-is permanently if they don't shrink, or should I maybe try remove that excess 1/4" if they don't shrink over the Summer?
Any help/advice given is very much appreciated!