I’ve been asked to make a piece of furniture to match some Danish Modern tables that were actually made in Denmark about 10 to 15 years ago. While the tables have the coloration that has traditionally been refered to as teak, I have a feeling the wood is some other species that resembles teak when finished. I’d like some suggestions as to what species may have actually been used and what alternative material, available here in the US, that I might use to come close to replicating the Danish Modern look and feel.
Jerry
Replies
Dear Jerry,
I'm not sure about the look that you are going for, but Ipe (Pau Lope) is a good match for teak, so is Canberra mahogony. Hope this helps.
John.
after having worked with a lot of ipe, and teak, I would be really reluctant to build furniture out of ipe. It doesn't have any grain, which makes it prone to checking, and the slivers are murder. The coloration is muddy brown and even after weathering for a couple of years, I don't find it to get the silver patina that teak does. It's dense, and holds up well to weather, but that's about as close as it comes to teak.
plantation teak is less expensive that 'genuine' teak, which around here is $16+ a bd foot, and while plantation teak pales in comparison to genuine teak, it is still a real teak.
I agree on all points, but the question was about substitutes for teak.
John
it would appear that the consensus is that there is no good substitute for teak...
If the issue with teak is the price, plantation grown teak is widely available at a lower price point.
Jerry,
"what alternative material, available here in the US, that I might use to come close to replicating the Danish Modern look and feel."
Teak.
VL
Jerry,
It's a tough call, I can only assume you're having problems with obtaining teak in the States or maybe its because its one of the least politically sound timbers to use :-[ as well as expensive (at least here in Australia it is restrictive pricewise). During the sixties and seventies downunder there was a huge surge of "Danish style" furniture manufacture, with the Teak being substituted by an Australian specie known as Blackbean (Castanospermum australe). I guess fat lot of good that will do you in the States but it might be worth a try.
I have a number of books on Danish furniture and I cant see any references to any alternatives but I'll give you a hoy if something comes up.
splinter
Jerry, although I would have delivered it with something lighter than a framing hammer, I think Venicia's message is the right one.
Teak is a distinctive timber, both in terms of texture and color. You can deal with the color via stains, but you can't counterfeit the texture no matter what you do. Some of the eucalypts (karri, or bluegum for example) are sometimes coarse enough to be vaguely similar in texture...but they're not all that available here in North America. At least not in cabinet stock form. The African timber, iroko, is often used as a teak substitute in boat building, but more because of its outstanding decay resistance than its striking similarity in appearance to teak. Also, it is now becoming scarce and expensive...not to mention, it is quite toxic and miserable to work with.
Plantation teak should be easier to find. Even if it is a bit pricey ($10 + per BF) it's probably still the better route to take.
Apart from iroko Jon, don't forget afrormosia is sometimes used as a teak substitute--- well we did anyway, ha, ha. Haven't used the stuff for probably twenty years now. Slainte.Website
Skin doobey,
Thanks for not making me try to spell that !
On a hill by the harbour
Jerry,
Jon's response is so much better than mine.
I didn't mean to be that abrupt (or did I?)
I love teak. As Jon says, nothing else is like it. Scandinavian design is my favorite style. Don't overlook the fact that there are several other woods that are used regularly in that design that say "Danish Modern" just as well as teak. Sometimes, teak gets too dark with the effects of finishing oils and exposure to air and sunlight.
Maple, cherry and beech are used extensively. Beech, probably because it is so available. But it is a gorgeous wood in its own right. As is cherry.
My favorite is maple. Finished as light as possible with a finish that does not yellow, is elegant, creative and exciting. And, being blond, it is, Oh, so Scandinavian.
VL
Yah, Venicia, I'd probably also have a much more cultured opinion of Scadinavian furniture...if I'd ever been anywhere Scandinavian and been able to keep my mind on the furniture. :O)
I can't comment re whether this is true or not... haven't laid eyes on it.... but I found the following on a UK timber merchants' site...
PAPUA NEW GUINEA ROSEWOOD - PTEROCARPUS INDICUS
This beautiful timber can substitute for mahogany, and for teak of which it is only half the price. Colour ranges from light yellow to brick red, texture moderately fine and takes an excellent polish. Very durable with very high resistance to termites and insects. A very good cabinetmaking wood, suitable for furniture, boatbuilding, kitchen fronts and tops, shop, bank, and office fittings, sculpture, brush backs, woodturning.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Mike, this wood has been around a long time and is usually marketed under the common name of narra. Pterocarpus is the padauk genus, but this Southeast Asian species isn't usually as vivid red as are the Andaman Island and African varieties of padauk.
It's a nice, showy wood and a reasonable substitute for rosewood in some applications, but it's definitely not a rosewood (Dalbergia spp) in that it is coarser textured and considerably less dense than any of the true rosewoods. It tends to be reddish brown in color...although it occasionally has a more amber hue and, on a highly selected basis, might be a reasonable substitute for teak. It's doubtful that it would be much cheaper, though.
In terms of appearance, the wood Sgian mentioned (afrormosia) is one of the better teak lookalikes....but it is usually a little finer textured. Problem is, this species (Pericopsis elata) is/was plentiful only in a very limited range in extreme west central Africa that has now been thoroughly logged...so, at the moment, it's probably even scarcer than teak, now that teak is being plantation grown.
The teak family; Verbenaceae, is mostly a collection of shrubs and teak (Tectona grandis) is its only major commercial timber. There is a New World genus in this family; Vitex, which contains some species (fiddlewood, cuajado; mostly native to the Caribbean region, Mexico and Central America) that see limited use in cabinetry. Although some of them share a teak-like color and figure, they're mostly finer textured. I've only seen them available here in the form of flooring, but they're important utility woods within their native regions.
I guess, in the final analysis, it isn't that Mother Nature doesn't make a few passable teak lookalikes...it's just that they're very hard to source and once you do track them down they aren't all that much cheaper. Sometimes, when you want a certain look for just one special project, I think it's best to give up the ghost, go ahead and dump your wallet out on the counter and get the real thing...The boat building crowd has scoured the flora of the world looking for ways to save a nickel on teak substitutes and they've left slim pickin's for the rest of us.
JonThanks for the heads up.... like I said in my post, I personally haven't laid eyes on this species and right now I can't see me having a need to either. I prefer to work hardwoods that grow locally and available from small sawmills in the area. My little part of trying to maintain sustainable resourses for the future... That's not to say I don't like the exptic stuff... just... being at the muddy end of the learning curve, I can't justify their costs.... Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Jerry,
I don't know if you or anyone else is paying attention to this thread any more. . .
Having been one of those who responded that there is no good substitute for the look of teak . . . I now need to add a little to the contrary.
I am about to build a table using mostly bubinga. Bubinga is a very beautiful wood, and quite plentiful. Much lower in price than teak. It finishes beautifully.
I 've finished a few sample pieces to test various finishing methods. One board has been treated with linseed oil, then shellac. Another has only blonde shellac. A third had linseed oil and spray lacquer. The fourth, just spray lacquer.
I brought them into the living room under normal incandescent light. My husband walked by and remarked, "Teak?"
We have a number of teak pieces, and quite frankly, the four bubinga pieces resembled one or another teak piece VERY closely. Most of the teak is straight grained. The bubinga most closely resembles the teak that has more swirling grain. The linseed-treated bubinga is a bit darker and redder than any of the teak, but still a very close match to the darkest, reddest teak piece.
The pieces finished with shellac or lacquer match up very well in tone.
The bubinga is a bit finer-grained, but only by a little. The teak has a slightly more "informal look" (if that means anything) than this bubinga I have.
If I had no teak to use and had to put a wood in a room with only teak furniture, this bubinga would fare very well.
VL
Thanks for the follow-up. I can get Bubinga for avout a third less than Teak.
I'll give it a try.
GPR
Jerry,
Bubinga is quite a bit more pink than teak when the woods are first worked. Teak has a decidedly green cast that slowly goes away on exposure to light and air and the wood turns its familiar toasty tan/brown. It doesn't ever get that pinkish tint that's in bubinga and remains a little green-yellow comparing the two.
I think a tiny bit of green dye in the bubinga finish would probably make them match very closely if that's important. I suggest you get a sample of bubinga and try some finishes to see if it matches up with the existing teak pieces.
VL
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