True Teak

Scientific Name:
Tectona grandis

Other Names and Species:
Burma Teak
Djati
Genuine Teak
Gia Thi
Jati Sak
Kyun
Mai Sak
Pahi
Rangoon Teak
Rosawa
Sagon
Sagwan
Tadi
Teca
Teck
Tegina
Tekku
Tik
Tsik

Origin:
Indonesia

Weight:
Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.55; air-dry density 40 pcf.  Janka side hardness 1,000 to 1,155 lb for dry material. Forest Products Laboratory toughness 116 in.-lb average for green and dry wood (5/8-in. specimen).

Use:
Shipbuilding, joinery, furniture, flooring, carving, cabinetwork, paneling, turnery, tanks and vats, fixtures requiring high resistance to acids.

General characteristics:
The sapwood of teak is white to pale yellow, while the heartwood is gloomy golged-brown to dark golden-yellow to plentiful brown in color with more coloured chocolate-colored brown streaks.The species has a direct, sometimes wavy grain and is fairly coarse and uneven in texture. The wood itself can be greasy with bright white pockets. This species holds a dul luster.

Working Properties:
Easily worked with both hand and machine tools and dresses to a very unwrinkled finish if tools are kept sharp; the presence of silica frequently dulls tools.  Finishing and gluing are satisfactory, although pre-treatment might be required to ensure fine bonding of finishes and glues.  As noted, may cause dermatitis in some individuals.

Drying and Shrinkage:
Seasons slowly but with little or no degrade, large variations in drying rates reported. Kiln schedule T10-D4S is suggested for 4/4 stock and T8-D3S for 8/4. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 2.5%; tangential 5.8%; volumetric 7.0%. Movement in service is rated as small. High resistance to water absorption

Durability:
As a flooring alternative, teak is a reasonably hard and long-lasting wood. It falls between black cherry and black walnut in hardness, is about forty percent harder than Douglas fir, is thirty-one percent gentler than sugar maple, is approximately sixty-nine percent as hard maple, and is just over forty-five percent as hard as santos mahogany‘s ranking of 2200.

Index you maybe interesting in reading: Janka Hardness Hardwood Floor Scale

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