FURNISHINGS : Teak’s Circuitous Path to Your Home

Sailors and traders visiting India and China in the early 1800s were caught up with the wood they found in widespread use as seagoing stock. Teak, with working and structural properties surpassing even those of their traditional oak, soon became the prime nautical wood of Europe and America, according to Wood magazine.

Weather-resistant, tough teak still ranks as the favorite for boat decks and trim. But it’s the story of how this hardwood arrives in craftsmen’s hands that rivals its history.

Teak harvesting begins with the girdling of selected trees deep in a Southeast Asian rain forest. This allows the timbers to die and dry on the stump over a period of years, making them tons lighter at logging time. Because of the terrain and its remoteness, elephants play a major role, moving the massive logs miles to a river. There, the teak lies for months, awaiting monsoon rains to fill the banks so it can float from the interior. In traditional forest harvesting, this seasonal reliance often results in a five-year delivery time.

Teak (Tectona grandis), a native species in the rain forests of Burma, India, Laos and Thailand, now grows in about 40 countries throughout the tropics. In Java, for instance, teak was planted generations ago, and the trees are managed for sustained yields.

Naturally occurring teak grows to heights of 100 feet and diameters of 12 feet or more in about 300 years. Plantation-grown teak gets taller, but never as large in circumference, although it can be harvested in 60 years.

If size alone didn’t distinguish teak from other rain forest trees, its enormous leaves would. They can measure a whopping 24-by-36 inches, and their top surface is rough enough to be used as sandpaper.

Teak has a thin layer of yellow sapwood, but it’s never seen by woodworkers. Importers and dealers instead favor boards of only coarse-textured, golden-brown heartwood. Teak, though, depending on its growing conditions, may have a greenish tint, small stripes of yellow and darker colors, or an occasional mottle figure. At about 40 pounds per cubic foot, teak weighs slightly less than oak.

Silica, which the growing tree extracts from the ground and distributes throughout the wood, gives teak an oily feeling and causes finishing problems. Freshly sawed boards also carry the aroma of old shoe leather.

Because it defies the elements, teak makes the perfect candidate for garden furniture and outdoor structures. Indoors, teak always has been prime stock for clean-lined furniture, as well as all forms of cabinetry.

The Burmese set the grading and pricing standard for teak more than 100 years ago. That’s why teak’s price goes up with the width and length of the board. For instance, First European Quality teak boards 1 inch thick will be at least 8 inches wide and bring a premium of $8 or more per board foot. Narrower boards cost less.

Prime teak-faced plywood runs considerably more than red oak or cherry panels, but at around $85, falls below the cost of walnut. Veneer prices fall into the $1.50-per-square-foot range of most imported species. Woodworkers with lots of experience working teak say that in old-growth trees from Thailand and Burma, the silica in the wood has broken down, making it easier to machine.

However, younger, plantation-grown teak has practically the same performance qualities as old-growth and woodworkers notice little difference in machining, although the color may vary, depending on the conditions at the location where it grew.