Teak

[GrahamIreland]

what is teak? Im confused, some people tell me its been over used and no longer available.

yet I see products being made from it online furniture.

Also we have iroko available is that of the family? or is that cedar related.... what about Sapele?

Confusing!

 

[Keith 66]

Teak originally came from southeast asia, Burma & surrounding countries, It is still available at a very high price, much of todays teak is plantation grown in Africa as well as countries of origin but it is fast growth & of lesser quality.
Iroko is an unrelated timber from Africa, it is similar in colour but not as durable, this doesnt stop people trying to pass it off as "African teak" which it aint.
You will often see threads on here about Laboratory benches made from teak, though teak was used for this pre WW2 virtually all post war school lab top benches are in fact Iroko.
Sapele is another species entirely similar to the mahoganies.

 

[peter-harrison]

As far as I know, teak has been over-exploited, and also gave very little benefit to Burma/Myanmar as it was mainly exported as raw timber. Several years ago the Burmese government put a ban on raw timber with the aim of encouraging local businesses to turn the wood into products for export.
I have no idea what effect this has had on Burmese forests. I would avoid timber from such places, as the regime is very corrupt and even if timber is supposed to be sustainable you will never know for sure.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

what is teak? Im confused, some people tell me its been over used and no longer available.

yet I see products being made from it online furniture.

Also we have iroko available is that of the family? or is that cedar related.... what about Sapele?

Confusing!

Have a look -
https://www.wood-database.com/

 

[GrahamIreland]

theres a site called tikamoon, the stuff is lovely.. is it teak? perhaps made that side of the world then shipped over to Uk markets?

https://www.tikamoon.co.uk/art-edgar-solid-teak-and-lava-stone-bathroom-cabinet-120-cm-3435.htm

 

[Jones]

You can still get decent teak ,there's a demand from boatbuilers so merchants that supply them can get it,try Robbins timber in Bristol if you can't find locally. It's definitely expensive. Plantation teak is used a lot in cheaper garden furniture and it's often not good with lots of sapwood.
Iroko is coarser grained, darker, and not as durable though still very good, also much cheaper. Some supplies are poorly dried/sawn and twist alot when resawn.
Sapele is a species of mahogany it's straight grained easy to machine and used a lot in joinery manufacture ,its not very durable or I think beautiful.