Working with teak?

[Roy Smith]

I needed to replicate some teak parts on my boat and figured I'd do it myself. So, I got some teak ($14/bf!) and got to work.

It's interesting stuff. Rough cut, it feels like any other wood, but as I started planing it, the true character came out. I always knew teak had oil in it, but I never expected anything like this. The newly planed surfaces are totally saturated. Wild stuff.

So, the question is, do I need to worry about the oil getting on my machines being a problem for other woods? The next time I run something else through my planer, table saw, etc, will it now get contaminated with teak oil, and if so will that play havoc with finishes, etc?

[Bob Davis]

Wow, I don't have much experience working with Teak but I certainly didn't have the experience you have with oil. I bought a lot of 200 bf. I haven't built anything substantial with it yet, but I did cut off a piece and jointed and faced it, then put some decorative edging and beading on it with a router. I just wanted to see how it works and what it looked like. Its gorgeous stuff, but not what I would call oily. I'm wondering if there was difference in drying between yours and mine. Mine was air dried in hot warehouse for about a year. I have not checked the moisture content.

Bob

[jds]

Roy, what you are experiencing is not unusual for teak. In my experience some lots are oilier than others. The primary problems I have encountered:

1) the oil coating the feed rollers of planers causing them to slip and 2) the oil retarding the curing of certain finishes. I have not had a problem with the oil cross-contaminating other woods from contact with tools. Gluing can also be a problem and it is sometimes recommended to wipe down the edges to be glued with acetone immediately before glue application. You will also note that although teak is relatively soft it has an abrasive character that dulls blades rather quickly.

Dave

[Roy Smith]

Thanks.

Another question: The bin marked 4/4 contained boards that were about

1-1/16" thick. The 5/4 bin had stuff that was more like 1-3/8" thick. The yard guy confirmed that it's cut thick, not mis-labeled.

Now, I'm certainly not complaining that I got extra material, but it is curious. I'm used to 4/4 being more like 15/16 rough-cut. It it common for teak to be cut a little fatter for a given nominal size? Or is it cut the same thickness and just doesn't shrink as much in drying? Or did I simply luck out and find a good supply?

As for finishing it, this is going on my boat, and won't get finished at all. As a friend of mine once said regarding the upkeep of teak on a boat, "If god hadn't meant teak to be grey, he wouldn't have made it that color". For me, the choice of teak was purely for it's physical properties, i.e. the ability to survive with no maintenance in a marine environment.

[Jeremy]

You also got it for a third the price :-)

JJ

Bob Davis wrote:

[Robert MacKinnon]

Could it be the difference between you measuring in Imperial and the supplier rough cutting to Metric? After all, the US and UK are the only places that still use Imperial predominantly and everywhere else is metric.

Even if you don't finish the teak and let it attain that grey colour, you should be scrupulous about cleaning it. Being a boat owner, you probably already know this. Many people with teak garden furniture just let it stand out in the weather and basically rot. It still takes effort to produce a weathered look.

[Jeremy]

Reputable people in the lumber business rough cut 4/4 to a size that should allow finishing at a precise 1 inch. The erosion of wood sizes is their way of making you pay for the kerf and an abominable practice sowing confusion around the world.

JJ

Roy Smith wrote:

[Mike in Mystic]

What exactly do you mean by "cleaning it"? I thought weather-resistant, etc. means rot-resistant. If it is out in the rain, what cleaning would be needed?

[Greg]

He is talking about getting the fungus off. (mildew or whatever you want to call it). On a boat this is also salt and whatever else collects from the marine environment. I am not a fanatic about the teak in my yard or on my boat but you should still knock the fuzz off and wipe it down with a teak oil/cleaner every once in a while. I use the generic stuff at one of the tar/mart type places..

[Phillip Hallam-Baker]

According to his Norm-ship putting teak through the planer or joiner does a real number on the knives due to the presence of lots of silicates.

Also you need to clean off any surfaces with a solvent before trying to glue, or you end up gluing the oil to the oil.

Phill

[Lew Hodgett]

No, but good teak will play hell with your cutter blades, even carbide ones.

You will have to resharpen all tool bits that were used to machine the teak.

If you plan to do any gluing, use epoxy.

Wear gloves, wipe glue surfaces with acetone, then epoxy.

Clamp lightly, only enough to keep pieces in registration, and allow epoxy to cure at least 24-36 hours.

HTH

[JMartin957]

Please let us know where you buy your lumber. With most of the 4/4 rough dry lumber I've bought, you might be able to hit or miss surface to 1", but even that is unlikely. 7/8" for planed flat boards is usually a possibility, but not always. I'm not saying it's right, but that's the way it is. In my experience, anyway.

Again, tell us where you find all those fat boards.

John Martin

[Jeremy]

Normally have them sawn, especially when I used to seal with the EU where the standards do not keep slipping a sixteenth of an inch per decade :-)

A fair number of people used to do it properly when I was in the tropical wood business, es-pecially when supplying door manufacturers and veneer cutters. Personally I have rarely bough any exotic wood from retail outlets, so I have little idea of what that market accepts.

JJ renewable resource teak

JMart>