Teak advice please

[Togalosh]

Hello Gents,

I scored a van load of old school science lab bench tops a while back & have now got round to making something from them but late in the day worked out that they are probably teak.. I've only worked with teak once before & that was 20 years ago & have a few questions. I am making a chest of drawers for CDs & the carcass is hopefully going to be dovetailed.

I have cut quite big, fairly evenly spaced dovetails but am worried about whether this is a good choice as the timber seems quite soft/crumbly..(but it's a bit late to ask !)

Should I use a different glue than the usual PVA?

Also the piece I made all those years ago started off dark green but has ended up matching the other orangey G-Plan furniture it is next to.. is there any way of keeping the fresh colouring (which is a very beautiful dark yellow) ?

Is there anything else I need to know about teak?

Thanks in advance
Togs

ps Hapy New Year !

 

[o0dunk0o]

I doubt they are teak, they are probably Iroko.

Pva should do what you want

If they are through dovetails polyuretane could be an option although if there are large gaps then maybe epoxy would be better

 

[MARK.B.]

Almost definately Iroko,if it is watch out for the splinters they go in easily and dont like to come out and they go septic quickly.
Any finish (clear) with a UV inhibitor will help to keep the colour looking fresh.

 

[Togalosh]

Thanks Dunk,

I now see Iroko is also called African Teak so I was not a million miles away...just a few thousand.

..if pva will do then that's great as ,this time at least, my joints fit pretty well.


Mark, thanks for the tips.

 

[o0dunk0o]

Thanks Dunk,

I now see Iroko is also called African Teak so I was not a million miles away...just a few thousand.

..if pva will do then that's great as ,this time at least, my joints fit pretty well.


Mark, thanks for the tips.

yeah its known as African teak but it's a completely different species,

it has some of the same qualities as teak, it's quite a stable wood and has quite a high resistance to rot. I believe that it is a dioecious species (there are male and female tree's) and I was told that the wood from the female tree can be quite tough to work (interlocking grain and kiln dried boards have a lot of tension in them) I have come across boards like this although them coming from a female tree might just have been joiners humour :wink:

 

[JonnyD]

It is possible that it is real teak. I've got quite a bit of teak that was originally science room work benching sometimes you can get lucky

Cheers

Jon

 

[Racers]

Hi, Togalosh

It could be teak, mine was

Before and after planing

And what it all ended up as.

If it is teak you will need to degrease it before gluing using acetone etc, I use waterproof PVA it seems to work well.

I made another 2 chairs this year we had relatives for Xmas.

Pete

 

[Togalosh]

...oh hell, I glued it up this evening..and my uncharacteristic confidence in my jointing skills was misplaced too... ho hum.

Does Iroko smell like teak & have soft soapy dust?


Pete
Hell almighty, that's a lot of teak & in a very useful size too .. I thought I'd scored a lot until I saw your pic !.. and again I'm impressed with your work.

(btw that piece of holly you kindly sent has made a wonderful mallet..an ugly one, but great to use & almost undentable (if that's a word)..so thanks again for it)

 

[Racers]

Hi, Togalosh

Pleased to here it made a good mallet, even if it changed from Hawthorne to Holly in the post :wink: :lol:

Looks Teaky to me but a bit light in colour.

Pete

 

[Togalosh]

I've been telling people about how hard & wonderful Holly is & that it should be utilised a lot more.. what a plonker.

Do you expect I'll have to reglue my carcass?

 

[SammyQ]

Do you expect I'll have to reglue my carcass?

No M8, but you really should watch the Hairy Dieter's programme on TV.... :-"

 

[JonnyD]

It looks more like teak than iroko to me.

Cheers

Jon

 

[Racers]

I've been telling people about how hard & wonderful Holly is & that it should be utilised a lot more.. what a plonker.

Do you expect I'll have to reglue my carcass?

Hi, Togalosh

I would see how it lasts, no point in trying to break the glued up bits unless you can saw down the joint with out reducing the width to much.

You got the first letter of the wood right :wink: :lol:

Pete

 

[Togalosh]

quote]

Hi, Togalosh

...unless you can saw down the joint with out reducing the width to much.
[/quote]


My joints are bad but not that bad !..hopefully.

Did you make the chairs in the photo too?

...so Teak is quite precious..or at least very expensive - ??? ..so do you kep the small off cuts for something else?..erm.. like... marquetry?..or is life too short for such things?

Sammy : Is carcass not the correct term for my piece of (ahem) craftmanship.. or is xmas dinner still in your thoughts ??

 

[Racers]

Hi, Togalosh

Yep its expensive and rare. so keep any off cuts.

I did make the chairs and added another two this year for when its extended and we have guests.

Pete

 

[Togalosh]

..wow.. I am deeply impressed.. it looks both immaculate & stylish. Where & how does the loose leaf live when not needed? Are you not worried about that one staying fresh looking while the top ages or do you use some supder duper finish ? How do you get the top so flat & perfect??

I'm scared to even try a set of chairs for fear of having to sit & look at mismatched chairs at every meal time...while gently rocking diagonally.

Are you a maker by profession?

 

[Racers]

Hi, Togalosh

The leaf lives under the table when not in use, it seems to be o/k no real aging, its all finished with danish oil.

The leaves where all made with hand plained joints and the tops where also hand plained, which with teak meant regular sharpening.

Chairs aren't to difficult to make, I started with a softwood mock up before making them, you can easily change them to make them confortable and look right before you start on the expensive wood.
I did have flat backs but they didn't feel good so I made curved rails.

Parts for one chair, all joints cut with a router/bandsaw. Having the side rails come through the front means no angled joints and easier construction.

I am an amateur.

Pete

 

[Togalosh]

..well that's even more impressive.

Acetone - that's nail varnish remover isn't it?..apply it with a small brush & allow to dry before glueing ??

 

[marcros]

..well that's even more impressive.

Acetone - that's nail varnish remover isn't it?..apply it with a small brush & allow to dry before glueing ??

yes. the cheapest source that i found was a fibreglass supplier if that helps. i struggled to find many places with it in stock within a couple of miles of where i work which suprised me.

 

[Togalosh]

..well that's even more impressive.

Acetone - that's nail varnish remover isn't it?..apply it with a small brush & allow to dry before glueing ??

yes. the cheapest source that i found was a fibreglass supplier if that helps. i struggled to find many places with it in stock within a couple of miles of where i work which suprised me.

Nice one Marcros

I've a supplier fairly close by.

Thanks you very much