Wood movement question. Do I need to modify my design?

[Justin Freund]

So I'm in the process of building my father a pool cue rack similar to the much pricier Brunswick one below. Mine will hole likely 10 cues and have the door recessed though. He likes rustic designs so I've glued up some hickory and some tiger maple for a little bit of extra flair. Most of my work is either painted or upholstered and uses sheet goods so I don't worry so much about wood movement, but this one has me wondering. The sides are hickory with a tiger maple stripe in the middle and the top and bottom are hickory with tiger maple breadboard ends. The sides will sit in dadoes in the top and bottom between the breadboards.

I'm thinking the expansion of the sides might be too much to be contained in between the breadboards on the top and bottom. On the top I can extend the dadoes a little bit as you won't see it but doing so on the bottom would make the dadoes visible unless I added trim that I hadn't planned on doing (but could I guess if needed). The sides are 14 1/2 inches total with the hickory pieces being 6 inches each and the tiger maple 2 1/2".

Should I modify my design or not worry about it?

The inspiration


Showing the dadoes on the top and the breadboard ends (not glued totally across and will have some brass pins in the ends)


Thanks for any help!

[Cody Colston]

I think your dadoes need to run across the grain. That way, when you insert the panels, they will move in unison with the base. Of course, you will have to make stopped dadoes instead of the through grooves you show in the pic.

If I'm looking at it wrong, disregard everything I said.

[Justin Freund]

Well that probably would have worked but that would have moved the breadboards to hide the end grain to the sides. And now it would essentially mean starting over. I think I might just route out the dadoes a little further on the top and bottom and cover them with some tiger maple cove molding.

I just don't know if I really need to. Thinking about dresser and bookcase carcass sides, I know of quite a few designs that have the same "issue" but its not a problem there.

[Lee Schierer]

Showing the dadoes on the top and the breadboard ends (not glued totally across and will have some brass pins in the ends)


Thanks for any help!

You'll want to anchor your bread boards near the center and let the ends float. Your brass pins will need to have slots in the hickory to allow the hickory to move with the seasons. Since you've already cut your dados, make the sides 1/8"-1/4" per side wider than the length of the dados and cut a shoulder that over hangs onto the bread boards (sort of a haunched tenon idea with the haunch flush with the top of the dado). Again anchoring near the center will allow the ends to float. The shoulders on each edge will move, but not reveal a gap to show you dados.

[Justin Freund]

Well I already trimmed the sides to fit but I can make the rack slightly smaller and redo the breadboards. I wish I thought of the haunched tenon idea. It would have saved me all this work but I think that's the ticket. Thank you.