Iroko

[Mark Rhodes]

I was at my local lumber importer and he had some Iroko (African Teak according to Him). I was looking for some teak for a glider plan that i have for the deck. Anyone ever used it? He is selling it for $5.00 a bf, good price ?? At this price its more attractive than real teak for me.

[Jim W. White]

Seems like a fair price for the Iroko. This wood has some trade-offs (see link) ...but considering you'd have to re-morgage your house to buy any substantial amount of teak now-a-days you might give it a go. Why not just pick up a (one)stick to see how it mills and takes a finish first.

...Jim in Idaho

http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood/iroko.htm

[Kelly C. Hanna]

You could use Ipe for about $3.50 bf. Very nice looking wood that will outlast most any other. You can get it in 1x6, 1x4 and some 2x dimensions. Teak is beautiful, but very expensive.

[Mark Rhodes]

Jim,
Thanks for the link and info. I would love to buy 1 stick but all he has is 8/4 10" wide or better 12 feet long. After reading the link im going to give it a whirl.

[Steve Cox]

Be aware that Iroko also causes respiratory reactions in many people (like many tropical hardwoods). Wear a respirator when milling the stuff.

[Dan Gill]

When I was in South Africa in November of 2003, we stayed with some folks who had kitchen cabinets made from what I think was iroko. They described it as local teak. Beautiful! I wish I had a bunch of that.

[Ian Barley]

I use about 4000bf of Iroko a year. It is not a member of the Teak family but behaves fairly similarly. It has about the same durability as teak but can be a bit more susceptible to movement. Choose straight grain to avoid warping. It is moderately agressive on cutting edges (My planer blades last 5 times as long with Oak) and, as has been pointed out, some people find the dust irritatant. It tends to dust quite a lot so make sure your extraction filters are kept clear.

Most Iroko comes from the west coast of Africa (Ghana is a major source) and it is popular in UK and particularly Ireland as an outdoor timber - I use it to make garden furniture. It used to be marketed as West African Teak. It weathers to silver grey left untreated and has an expected life in the 20-30 year range. You can get quite a lot of colour variation in freshly worked wood but this will go after a couple of days in the sun. Iroko also metabolises calcium which appears as chalky deposits. I find them interesting bit they can destroy an edge very quickly.

Price comparisons are a bit moot but you are paying roughly the same as I would in the UK - but I tend to buy 2000bf at a time and use shorts.

Hope that helps

[Mark Rhodes]

Thanks Ian, well i guess im off to buy some of this stuff and give er a go. 4000bf a year thats a lot of garden furniture.