Teak sofa progress...I hate teak!

[Mark Singer]

Well after about 45 hours my ears are ringing from a loud planer...most of my tools need sharpening....my eyes a little tired of the hand cut mitered dovetails ....Did I mention I hate teak? Ask any hardwood supplier and milling teak is 2 times the cost of any other wood....try planing some and you will know why! It is super abrasive and between the oil an the grit it will eat your knives and they get loud! Can you hear me? I can't. The wood also has a tendency to split without cause on joinery and other places...
I have wedged through tenons and mitered dovetails in 6/4 material on the arms. Mitered dovs are only sawn by hand and you have lots of chances to screw up since every surface is exposed (unlike half blinds where you just show one pretty face)...the miter is also handsawn. Dovetails in 6/4 will not allow room for error because in 1 1/2" everything shows....so I took about 1 1/2 hours for each of the arms....which is very slow even for mitered doves...If the miter looks bad the joint looks terrible. I decided on this piece to use my LN dovetail saw which has always taken a back seat to my old great Taylor Bros. saw...After using the LN for this I must say it is an excellent saw! It saws beautiful! After I cut all the joints with the LN ...I cut one more with my beloved Taylor Bros...and it is still my favorite.
These pics are before finish and just lightly planed and sanded... It eats sandpaper too!
I won't flip my knives till after I finish with the teak! My friend Chris Feddershon , a instructor at Palomar called me and gave me some tips. After talking to him I changed to West Systems for all the important joints. He said if you use TightBond glue it right after milling or the oil will cause a joint failure. I will never undertake such a challenging project with teak! It is not enjoyable!
The structure is all mortise and tenon ....mostly made on my new MM Elite S Combo Mortiser. It worked great!
I used a variety of planes...LN 164, LV Bevel up jack and smoother...The LN 102 block...and the Knight Coffin smoother which was great!

[Mark Singer]

here is another teaky pic

[Jamie Buxton]

Teak?! You should fire that designer.

[Mark Singer]

Teak?! You should fire that designer.

Jamie ...I am crying...I changed it so much I feel like its mine now?

[John Miliunas]

So Mark, tell us how you really feel about Teak!!! That notwithstanding, those joints look absolutely fantastic! I have to believe it's gonna' look wonderful once you're done with it!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mark.......I know you hate working with teak.....that withstanding ....you're surely showcasing your craftsmanship! Excellent! You have more patience than I!

[Alan DuBoff]

Mark,

Chill overnight and things will be ok. Joinery looks fine. Take 2 wacks to the thumb with your ball pein, and you'll forget about it...

Teak is very oily, which is the very reason it's used on boats extensively, it's pretty tough wood. Many of the larger yachts have teak decks also, it adhere's nicely in wet condition with deck shoes (can be hard on bare feet...DAMHIKT).

Very few if any knots, and the ones I have seen are small it's an interesting wood.

With that said, and you certainly have much more woodworking experience than myself, but I like teak with soft edges, because of the tight grain it feels wonderful with soft, rounded edges. The dovetails look nice, IMO, but are sharp joinery. Greene & Greene used quite a bit of teak, or shall I say the Hall Bros. used a lot of teak, in the utlimate bungalows. It looks fantastic. But they used it with soft finger joints that excentuated the joinery with soft edges. It works well in that setting, IMO.

The design you have shows very sharp edges, and is a much more modern design. Maybe another wood would fit better in that situation.

I happen to like teak a lot, as I do purple heart, hickory, paduk, and various rosewoods...but most all of the hardwoods are difficult to work with.

If you want wood that's easier to work with, try to steer your clients to walnut and maple!

Walnut has always been one of my faves, it turns, cuts, and pars just so fine...I was at my Mom's not long ago and saw a walnut bowl I turned back in high school, it still feels so nice and soft, even today...it just had danish oil on it, polished up on the lathe...

[Deirdre Saoirse Moen]

I love teak, personally. I can get 8/4 teak shorts for less than wide maple costs me in 8/4, so I'm using it fairly liberally these days.

It loves planes, too. Nice to work, for the most part. Just wipe the joints with acetone before gluing, that's all. Yes, it requires more sharpening, but so do any of the super-hard woods.

I know it's heresy, but I'm considering making the Enfield Shaker Cabinet out of teak (since our dining table is teak and it would go in the dining room).

My favorite domestic is cherry, but I'm learning to love walnut.

[Norman Hitt]

Beautiful Joinery, Mark. It will really hold the frame together solidly. What will the upholstery and the finish be? It'sa gonna be NICE when it'sa done.

[Karl Laustrup]

That design is fantastic Mark. The joinery is first class, as I would expect it to be coming from your shop.

While the teak is a pain to work with, I've a feeling the finished product will be stunning.

Karl

[Tom Sherman]

Just have one word for ya Mark WOW!

[Mark Singer]

I love teak, personally. I can get 8/4 teak shorts for less than wide maple costs me in 8/4, so I'm using it fairly liberally these days.

It loves planes, too. Nice to work, for the most part. Just wipe the joints with acetone before gluing, that's all. Yes, it requires more sharpening, but so do any of the super-hard woods.

I know it's heresy, but I'm considering making the Enfield Shaker Cabinet out of teak (since our dining table is teak and it would go in the dining room).

My favorite domestic is cherry, but I'm learning to love walnut.

What is a good natural finish? I was thinking of just Briwax....What do you use?

[Bob Childress]

Mark,

That is gorgeous work, as usual!!! You know, you ought to consider doing this for a living

BTW how do you like working with teak?

[Richard Wolf]

Great work Mark. They sell teak oil as a finish, maybe that's an outdoor finish only.

Richard

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Nice exposed joinery. Nice lines.
I am partial to Danish Modern too.
Why are you hand cuttiing the miters?