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Monday, February 6, 2012

Know Your Wood: Teak

Teak
1.2 km of Teak to walk on right there.

Common trade names: Teak, Burmese Teak.

Genus: Tectona grandis

Janka Hardness (pounds-force): 1070

Description: Coarse texture with medium pores. Teak has a generally straight grain pattern, though as is the case with many tropical species, the grain will occasionally interlock or become wavy. Teak is a generally oily wood, with heart wood is medium brown to golden-brown. Teak is generally easy to work, excepting the high silica content of the wood, which blunts tools quite easily. Despite being heavily plantationed worldwide, Teak is a very expensive and coveted wood.

Location: The tropics. Native to: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma. Farmed in: Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Fiji, Ghana, Honduras, Myanmar, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Vietnam, Zaire

Common Aliases: Burma Teak, Deleg, Dodolan, Genuine teak, Gia thi, Jate, Jati, Jatos, Kulidawa, Kyun, Rangoon teak, Sagwan, Teca, Teck, Tekku, Tik, Tsik.

Performance: Glues and finishes well, and is very easy to work excepting the silica level noted above.
Versatile and durable, Teak is a fine solution for interior and exterior works.

Common Uses: Window construction, boats ships, furniture, exterior construction, turnings, flooring, light construction, agricultural implements, cabinetmaking, moldings, paneling, vehicle parts, and countless other uses.

From: The Wood Database

Common Name(s): Teak, Burmese Teak
Scientific Name: Tectona grandis
Distribution: Native to southern Asia, Teak is also widely grown on plantations throughout tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Tree Size: 100-130 ft (30-40 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 41 lbs/ft3 (650 kg/m3)
Basic Specific Gravity: .54
Hardness: 1,070 lbf (4,740 N)
Rupture Strength: 13,940 lbf/in2 (96,140 kPa)
Elastic Strength: 1,570,000 lbf/in2 (10,830 MPa)
Crushing Strength: 7,770 lbf/in2 (53.6 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 2.5%, Tangential: 5.8%, Volumetric: 7.0%, T/R Ratio: 2.3

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