Glued Teak Planks

[Zachary Provost]

Hello everyone,

First post here, hopefully I am in the right section.

I have a problem:

I purchased a lot of teak planks from a warehouse but unfortunately they are glued together in these small square modular deck tiles.

I say tiles, but in reality they resemble pallets and are about 3 sq ft.

Problem is this: it is not regular wood glue, it is an epoxy (I think...), and pulling them apart completely destroys the planks and the glue does not budge (it literally tears off a chunk of the grain 1 inch deep where it is attached...)

How should I go about separating these planks without damaging the ends of the planks where they are attached to the supporting planks below. (The lower planks are also teak).

I tried using a putty knife and hammer and had to use destructive force to separate even a few planks, I can't really afford to buy 100 putty knives and do not believe I have the stamina to go through weeks of doing that.

Many thanks,
Zachary

[Chris Padilla]

Sounds like a job for a circular saw.

[larry senen]

I pic would help.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

There are lots of youtube vids on how to un-glue epoxy.

[Mike Henderson]

I would cut along the glue line with a circular saw. You'll lose a small amount of wood to the saw kerf but that's better than splitting the boards.

Mike

[Brad Barnhart]

If you have a TS, use a thin kerf blade & cut the pieces apart. If you don't, as mentioned, use a circular saw & a straight edge to cut your pieces apart. Be better then breaking them apart. To use them again, you'll have to straighten the edges anyway. If you cut them apart, you'll have smooth edges.

[Jerry Miner]

If I understand the OP, he's got units built like glued-together pallets. I'm thinking like this:
343421

A circular saw might be too limited in cut depth. A bandsaw would free up the individual planks, and remove the "under carriage" but there would be some loss (like most of the under-carriage).

A Sawzall could separate the parts, but it would be a lot of work. I think I'd go with the bandsaw and lose some of the wood.

[Zachary Provost]

I have exactly what Jerry miner has pictured, except there are only 2 planks underneath, at each extremity and none in the middle.

Keep in mind, these things are unbelievably heavy, I can just barely manage lifting one alone. I tried using my table saw with them standing vertically and it was uncomfortable to say the least, I had no control over the squareness of the pallet to the blade as it was flip-flopping all over the due to the sheer weight. On top of that my saw blade was slowing to a stop and there was thick smoke coming off it. Felt like I was cutting steel! Also, the blade was not cutting nearly deep enough to separate the planks from the under carriage. My circular saw would not be deep enough either...

I am interested in the sawmill alternative given the fact that I have limited access to a table saw and feel like purchasing a Sawzall would be a good idea for general cutting duties. Any more advice if I go along this path? Recommended blades and equipment?

Many thanks for all the info everyone! What an awesome community...

[rudy de haas]

1) teak contains a lot of silica and is therefore very hard on your table saw blade - and, of course, heavy. With only 3 sq ft they should not be that heavy (unless very thick, of course). Are you sure it's teak? - your description suggests Jatoba or something similarly dense.

2) I'd build something to hold the pallets on edge (one under-plank down, one up) and to guide a skil saw (circular saw) along one side. If that doesn't go deep enough, finish up with a handsaw. A sawsall would be faster, but I've never managed to control one well enough for this kind of job.

3) once you have the two under-planks stripped off, you can trim them using either a band saw or your table saw.

[larry senen]

Sawzall would be my choice. Nice long blade ,coarse teeth.

[Chris Padilla]

Sawzall would be my choice. Nice long blade ,coarse teeth.


Yep. A sawzall is a good general tool to have around the house/shop, too.

[Mark Wooden]

If it's teak (does it smell funny when cut?) the glue is almost definitely epoxy of some sort. A skillsaw followed by a sawzall is your best bet if you want to keep the full length of the slats. I'd just cut the planks off with a skillsaw and then run the skids on the tablesaw to cut the remaining plank off. Sometimes the material isn't worth the trouble in labor and tool wear.
Just my 2 cents

[Zachary Provost]

Ok fantastic! Thank you all, I will be buying a sawzall. The planks are over an inch thick btw! I do believe it is teak but I guess I do not really know.

[Chris Padilla]

Post some pictures! :)

[Andrew Hughes]

I doubt that it's teak.I bet it's Ipe or Apitong.
Throw up some pics son we can see this indestructible pallet.:confused:

Aj

[Bill Orbine]

If you not care about the runners underneath the planks, you could start separating the planks from each other by cutting the runners.... then cut away the pieces of runners from the planks.