First time working with teak - tips?

[scott vroom]

I'm going to be making a teak vanity top for a customer's bath remodel. I'm considering 4/4 rough, milling to 3/4" then attaching to a 1" plywood substrate screwed to a 2x4 frame for ridgidity. The final dimensions will be 22" deep x 6' long. The vanity will support a granite vessal lav. Backsplash will be 6" high teak, glued and screwed to the vanity top. Front facing will also be teak, glued and screwed to the 2x4 frame face. Exposed edges will be rounded using a 1/4" rounding bit. A simple design.

I've never worked with teak and have been told it is very hard on tools due to it's density and oil content. I have a 8" jointer with std knives, and a 15" planner with spiral cutter, both tools fairly new so cutters are sharp. I'm looking for tips/advice from anyone with experience working with teak. I had planned to Varathane the teak due to the wet location and to keep the teak looking new.

Thanks-
Scott

[Karl Card]

i have a boat load of teak and one thing i will tell you is wear a dust mask all the time... teak dust will burn the living daylights out of your sinus cavities. I turned a bowl one night of teak and found this out the hardway. there will belots of powdery dust, clouds of it unless you have a dust collector in place. Yes it is hard on tools but at the same time turning it was pretty easy, at least the piece i had at the time. I have heard others say teak smells bad but i havent gotten that smell out of mine yet so mne might be dried very good. But all in all I love the looks of teak and the bowl I am making is very pretty.

[Brent Ring]

Norm used acetone on it prior to glue up.

[Mark Stephens]

. . . and the most reliable adhesive for teak is epoxy.

I'm not sure I understand the reason for the 1" plywood substrate.

[Dave Cav]

I made a couple of display cases out of teak last year and an entertainment center out of mostly teak plywood about 15 years ago. It is VERY hard on tools. You will probably be ok with your jointer and the spiral head in your planer. I wore out a set of planer knives milling the teak last year before I got a spiral head.

I have always used an oil finish on my teak projects. The wood does have a high oil content so I don't know how the varathane will work. Probably OK, but I haven't done it so I can't say for sure.

[Dave Anthony]

I wouldn't use Varathane. I have a ski boat with a teak swim platform. Once a year I clean it with teak cleaner (oxalic acid) & soak it in teak oil, then oil it 2 or 3 times a year. I live in California and ski a lot, so it's constantly exposed to sun & water, and it looks great. My buddy's teak platform won't absorb oil even after being sanded down to bare wood - after 1 or 2 times out it looks old & worn. Our theory is at some point someone coated it with a varnish or varathane which sealed the pores. Teak is also very hard on the wallet - for the $$ it seems a shame to cover the wood w/poly. If you don't oil it teak turns grey, which some people like. If you change your mind, oil will return it to a rich golden brown.

[Andrew Duncan]

I have teak vanity tops in 2 baths and also some teak in the shower area and tons of teak counters in the kitchen. All was built and installed about 10 years ago.

I agree with Mark about not needing the plywood substrate. The teak is very stable. I used polyurethane glue for the glue ups and 4 or 5 coats of Behlens Rock Hard as finish for all the counter tops and 8 or 10 coats of Epiphanes Rubbed Effect for the teak in the shower.

I used about 200 bd. ft. in total and had to change planer knives about midway through the job. The saw blade needed sharpening at the end. So it's pretty tough on tooling. I didn't have any unusual reaction to the dust and I wasn't very careful about my dust collection/protection back then.

[scott vroom]

Several of you questioned the plywood. I should have mentioned that the vanity is really a table and doesn't sit on a cabinet. It will span about 6', the entire front edge unsupported. I'm using the plywood & 2x4 for ridgidity. A 4" deep teak facing will cover the structure. It may be over-engineered but plywood is not expensive and I don't want any sag in the top.

Lots to think about on the finish...thanks for the ideas.

[Bill White]

PUHLEEEZZZEEE don't put poly on teak. Use a wiping varnish or an oil. Real wood should NOT be plasticized.
Bill

[Jim Dailey]

Hi Scott,

You've gotten some good advice but I'd add a couple of additional thoughts.

Teak dust for some causes sever allergic reaction, thus use dust collect on every tool, and as already mentioned use dust mask/respirator.

I surface teak whenever possible with a drum sander (a Woodmaster now but in the past used a Delta). Yea I know it takes time but sand paper is cheap & less hassel than trashing a set of planer blades.

You may want to consider a torsion box rather than 3/4" plywood carry the 6' counter.

jim

[Floyd Mah]

A word of caution. I don't know of other people's experience, but I grazed a finger with a saw that I had been using to cut teak and I ended up with a wound that took more than two weeks to heal. This was when I was 15 years younger and I could expect minor wounds to heal in a few days. Anyway, be careful with any cutting tools that have been used on teak.