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| Home Painting Skills and Basics Paperhanging Home Decorating Interior Decorating Wood Identification |
TeakTeak is one of the world's outstanding woods and one against which others are often judged. Though many woods are  called teak, only that produced by T.grandis is true teak. It occurs naturally in Burma and Thailand, the main sources of commercial timber, and in India, Indo-China and Java, but it has been planted in many parts of the world. It comes from a tree of variable size and form, which, when well grown, can reach 40m in height and have a bole I to 10m in diameter, though the bole in large trees is often fluted.Teak is usually a uniform goldenbrown, but may be a medium to deep brown and have darker, almost black markings. It is ringporous, with a conspicuous growth-ring figure on flat-sawn surfaces and a coarse and often uneven texture. It has a greasy feel and a characteristic leathery smell. Teak is a medium-weight wood, heavier than mahogany but lighter than oak. Teak dries slowly but well, and once dry it is noted for its stability in use. It is strong for its weight, but is hard to saw and machine because of its abrasive nature. It is extremely durable. Teak is foremost a ship-building wood, used where strength, stability and durability are demanded, and preferred to all other woods for decking. It is used for fine joinery and for laboratory fittings, especially bench tops, and in chemical works on account of its acid resistance. It has been fashionable in recent years in domestic furniture, often as veneer. Extract from 'The International book of WOOD' curtesy Michael Beazley Publishers Limited 1979. |
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