Hello everyone, first post, but hopefully not the last. Just getting into making my own furniture.

I'm refinishing an oak desk that was previously used as a place to hold paint cans. The top used to have a fold out section used for type writers, but the hardware was removed long ago and the veneer of the original top is peeling and covered with paint.

I'm replacing the top with a piece of butternut (approx 64"x25"x1.5") from a project of my fathers that never happened. Unfortunately, the butternut piece we have isn't big enough (desk is 60"x30"), so we're surrounding it ('framing' it) with oak to
A) make it big enough
B) tie it in with the rest of the desk
C) have an edge that is decently hard

What's the best way to keep that oak and butternut together? I'm thinking that I'll glue/biscuit the oak and butternut at the front and back of the desktop since the grains run parallel. For the ends where the oak runs perpendicular to the butternut, I'll use breadboard ends?

Could I secure the front corner so all the expansion shows at the back? Is the breadboard end going to be strong enough to handle the weight of the desk when moving it around? (I'll definitely move the top and desk pieces separate, but you never know what others will do)

Thanks very much for the help, I'll get pictures soon!