Replies

1. 
   Rich14 | Oct 20, 2006 03:24am | #1

   Bones,

   Nothing is quite like teak. In appearance, color, grain, performance or finishing. There are woods that are somewhat like it in various respects, mostly color. Aformosia is the most often used just as a "look alike" (although it doesn't). Ipe shares teaks weather resistance. Iroko is used in some applications, as is sapele and bubinga.

   Rich

1. 
   brettskie | Oct 20, 2006 11:13pm | #6

   Afromosial. I just thought I'd share my experience on Afromosia

   Afromosia (or Aformosia) is very much the color of teak. Maybe the face grain patterns are different, but if you can get rift cut (I did) it really looks like teak. I feel it is much stronger for joinery situations, especially if your design is not of heavy dimensions/shapes.  My experience with teak is from repairing imported Indonesian furniture.

   I used  Afromosia as the face frame for some built in cabinets. I found it by accident--I was looking for a nice chocolaty-colored wood to contrast with the Brazilian Cherry veneered ply I was using for the panel surfaces. The Afromosia fooled me because in its raw, roughsawn state at the lumber place it had a rich dark brown color. But when I cut into it at home it was a lighter brown with honey streaks--more of a yellow brown than a red brown. Just like teak and similar patters on the rift cut. I ended up staining the Afro for a perfect darker contrast to the Braz cherry. It takes a stain very nicely, as does teak (much of the Indo furniture is stained--if not it's very honey colored). I later made a small wall-hung cabinet with the natural Afro as trim and a small drawer face on the same Braz cherry ply. It looks great as the Brazilian does have some lighter, slightly golden highlights, although it will get more red with time.

   After all this, the questionable side of Afro is the origin of the wood. Who knows what the environmental impact is on its sourcing. I do know that it comes from huge trees. Rough  cut lumber will be practically 100% usable (like the teak lumber I've seen). If you put a clear finish on the Afro I recommend sanding it very thoroughly to get all the micro tearouts from cutting tools. If you handle rough-cut Afro you better wear gloves because it makes vicious small sharp splinters. Not a problem once planed and jointed. It smells like teak to me, sort of reminds me of being at the zoo.

   Did I see another post that Brazilian cherry might look like teak? Only if the teak you compare it to was stained. I think a lot of people don't realize that the teak they see in darker colors is stained. No offense, but make sure you know what teak really looks like, or what coloring of it you really want. I can not see any advanatage of using teak for indoor furniture unless you want to carve on it and like the unusual feel of cutting into it by hand. It does have a nice feel to cut it with hand tools. It is actually soft in a way. If you hand sand it you need to take long strokes over a long surface or it will gum up your paper quickly.  We were absolulte forbidden to run any through the wide belt sander machines because it would have clogged up the belts. Random orbit is not so bad if you keep moving it around enough. I would never use it for chairs with conventional joinery. It needs large joinery surfaces in weight-bearing uses because it is soft. If you buy Indonesian furniture make it an ornamental thing only because it will not handle wear and tear (like tables and chairs forget it).

   Sorry for the rambling. Too much coffee, time to start some real work.

   Aloha,

   Brettskie

    

    

1. 
   Rich14 | Oct 21, 2006 12:16am | #7

   "I found it by accident--I was looking for a nice chocolaty-colored wood to contrast with the Brazilian Cherry veneered ply I was using for the panel surfaces. The Afromosia fooled me because in its raw, roughsawn state at the lumber place it had a rich dark brown color"

   "No offense, but make sure you know what teak really looks like, or what coloring of it you really want"

   That's interesting, because teak in its rough state and when first cut and sanded has for me always been an uninteresting olive drab color. It almost takes an act of faith to believe it is going to look better. An application of linseed oil makes it look much better, much more like the toasty brown that the furniture industry likes. Then exposure to air and light continues the color improvement.

   "I would never use it for chairs with conventional joinery"

   My experience has been exactly the opposite. Teak is one of the most frequently used woods for chairs and joinery with it is no problem at all. I have no experience with Indonesian furnitue, but lots of experience with Scandanavian furniture where teak has been a mainstay for over a century.

   Rich

1. 
   brettskie | Oct 21, 2006 03:42am | #9

   Thanks for the tip on lindseed oil on teak. I'll give that a look. I'm sure Scandanavian joinery is much more precise and therefore stronger than the affordable Indonesian stuff I've worked on. I haven't made any chairs yet myself, only repaired ones with sloppy joinery.   I would have no worries  buying one made by a reputable craftsman. Are you a chair maker?

1. 
   Rich14 | Oct 21, 2006 05:32pm | #10

   brettskie,I wouldn't call myself a chairmaker, although I have made many.If you are interested in chairmaking, I think the best book in existence is "Chairmaking & Design" by Jeff Miller. There is nothing else that comes close in teaching techniques, craftsmanship and philosophy of design.An excellent resource for Scanadanavian chairs is "Danish Chairs," Chronicle Books. There are detailed photographs and drawings of every important design ever manufactured.Both are available at Amazon.The chairmaking section of Taunton's, "Practical Design, Solutions and Strategies" is also good as an over-all description of the needs of good chair design and construction.Rich

2. 
   brettskie | Oct 26, 2006 08:17pm | #15

   Thanks for the chair making resources. I will need the good info.

   Brettskie

2. 
   oldusty | Oct 20, 2006 09:07am | #2

   Hi bones ,

                    Take a close look at Lyptus , another one is Brazilian Cherrywood .

    

                                good    luck            dusty

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Oct 20, 2006 10:39am | #3

   Lyptus is a very interesting wood, but you would never mistake it for teak, even if dyed to the right orange brown.  On the other hand, if you didn't feel the extra weight, you could probably make it hard to tell ,without magnification, that Lyptus wasn't mahogany. 

1. 
   user-211435 | Oct 21, 2006 09:45pm | #11

   SteveSchoene,

   One big difference is that Lyptus is never supposed to be used in exterior applications.  At least this is the information given by the manufacturer.  I don't think it is very dimensionally stable or rot resistant.

   I do agree with you that it doesn't look anything like teak though.

    

   Hal

   http://www.rivercitywoodworks.com

    

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Oct 21, 2006 10:11pm | #12

   I don't know about rot resistence I wouldn't suggest it for serious exterior use, but my bit of experience suggests that Lyptus may be OK as far as stablity goes. 

   I had a 4/4 piece about 4 ft. long that I was experimenting with finishes on.  I put it out in my yard check on how quick it would sun tan.  While it was bright full sun at 10 am, clouds rolled in and by 4 it was poring rain, and rained all evening and through the night.  I had forgotten about the board until morning.  I went out to look at it, expecting a pretzle since I had finish (a coat of shellac and a couple of coats of varnish) only on one side.  The Lyptus did have a bit of bend in it (longitudinal, not cupping which I thought odd) of about 1/4" in 4 feet.  I brought it in, stood it leaning against the wall, and let it dry for a few days.  It straightened right out--would fully flatten in one or two jointer passes, and would be usable as is for lots of purposes.  Of course this is a sample of one. 

1. 
   user-211435 | Oct 21, 2006 10:49pm | #13

   Very interesting.

   I have never used it for anything other than experimenting with a piece in my shop when I was originally introduced to it a few years ago.  I still have the piece and probably will never use it except for heat.  It has taken on a nice cherry patina though.

   Hal

2. 
   bones | Oct 21, 2006 10:50pm | #14

   Wow, thanks to all who replied and to Matt in the ask the experts who pointed me to an article. The weathering properties do not apply here due to it being inside.  I passed the information along, and a link to this thread.  He definately has some options to look into. Thanks again, I told him this group would come through.

3. 
   nascar24 | Oct 20, 2006 03:53pm | #4

   Garapa , its like a golden ipe East Teak Lumber has it 800 338 5636

4. 
   lwilliams | Oct 20, 2006 05:13pm | #5

   Aged red mulberry looks very much like teak. Like cherry, it takes a while for darkening and red mulberry starts out a striking yellow color but ages to a teak-like brown with similar grain appearance and even has similar occasional small whitish streaks or mineral deposits. Mulberry is lighter, less dense and less strong but, like teak, is very decay resistant. It has great working qualities with both machines and hand tools. Because mulberry lacks the oils of teak and its tropical substitutes it finishes nicely with a wide variety of finishes. If your friend is patient red mulberry might be an option and its lower weight may be more practical for a project as large as an entertainment center.

5. 
   wop | Oct 21, 2006 12:21am | #8

      Afromosia is the closest you can get to looking like teak and if you aren't interested in the weathering properties it is what you are looking for. If you want the same durability Iroko is you're man and you can find some grain pattern that resembles teak if you do a bit of looking around.

     Personally I think that teak is way overrated. I can get 40 year old Madagascar rosewood for half the price.

                                                                             Philip

6. 
   dherzig | Oct 26, 2006 10:55pm | #16

   If he doesn't mind it, he could use teak veneered ply with edging of solid teak.

1. 
   bones | Oct 27, 2006 07:21pm | #17

   Thanks for the reply. I passed allong all the suggstions. 

1. 
   KeithNewton | Oct 28, 2006 04:07am | #18

   Hey bones, I just did a quick scan of the other suggestions, and didn't see Black Locust mentioned. I don't see it offered as lumber very often, but I have some that I sawed a few years back, and I don't think most people would know the difference. It is a lot harder and stronger, and probably as resistant to rot and insects.

1. 
   quietude | Oct 28, 2006 05:45am | #19

   I have a black locust floor and love it. I think it is a fair amount lighter in color than most of the teak that I have worked with, but that may just be the batch I got. It has been very durable. When I have seen it available, it has been cheaper than teak.

   Edited 10/27/2006 10:46 pm ET by quietude