Replies

1. 
   user-52008 | Oct 20, 2006 06:29pm | #1

   To answer your first question, I don't know from experience because I've never used Titebond III on teak. But many years ago I built an entire bathroom paneled in teak, with teak cabinets and frame-and-panel doors. For that job I used regular Titebond and it worked fine.

   If you post this question over in the regular Knots forum, you're likely to stir up a raging controversy. Some people maintain that you should always wipe the glue joints first with lacquer thinner or acetone to remove the oils in the wood. Others swear that process makes the problem worse. The people at Franklin International, the makers of Titebond glues say this in an FAQ section on their website:

   Can Titebond Wood Glues be used for projects using teak, cedar or redwood?
   Because a surface layer of oil or tannic acid tends to build up on these species, they can present a problem. For either type of wood, planing, jointing, or sanding shortly before bonding will remove the contaminating layer, and allow successful bonding. Otherwise, the surface being bonded will need to be wiped with acetone to remove the layer. Acetone dries quickly, and allows bonding almost immediately after the surfaces have been wiped.

   Regarding your second question, a marine-grade spar varnish would be a good choice for finishing a bar top.

1. 
   jwwood1 | Oct 21, 2006 03:01am | #2

   bill,

   thanks for the advise.  i'm going to try some test pieces with the titebondIII.  as fas as wiping the joints with acetone before glue up, does that hold true for applying the varnish?

   thanks,

   joel

1. 
   user-52008 | Oct 21, 2006 09:58pm | #3

   You're welcome Joel. I suspect you won't have any problems with the Titebond III adhering to the teak, but testing it out first is certainly a good idea.

   Regarding your finishing question, I've used regular nitrocellulose lacquer, an oil-varnish mixture, spar varnish, and oil-based polyurethane to finish teak; and I never had any problems with any of them sticking to the surface. In all cases, I sanded the projects first (down to 120-grit or 150-grit), but I did not wipe the surfaces with acetone or lacquer thinner.

   Not to throw a wrench in the works here, but I feel compelled to warn you about another unrelated complication: teak can contain a lot of silica (essentially fine-grained sand), which will quickly dull any high-speed steel cutters like those most often used in jointers, planers, and some router bits and sawblades. Carbide blades hold up a lot better when you're milling and shaping teak.

1. 
   jwwood1 | Oct 25, 2006 06:41pm | #4

   Bill,

   thanks again.  i was told by my supplier that teak was hard on tools, but it's nice to know the reasons why, that type of information is especially helpful with clients.  i guess i'll finally have to get around to ordering that second set of jointer and planer knives to have while the other set is being sharpened.

   thanks,

   joel