Good Substitute for Teak?

[Chris Dodge]

I have a customer that wants six dining chairs made to match his teak dining table. However, he does not want the chairs to be made of teak because of the cost.

Can anyone recommend a good substitute with a similar grain structure? I am looking at mahogany but my experience with mahogany is that it doesn't take stain well and I need to stain this wood to get it as dark as the dining table, which is dark.

Any suggestions? Thanks guys!

[Scott Schwake]

How about ipe? Not sure it's going to be any cheaper though, might be more.

[Glenn Clabo]

I happen to know the guys who supply most of the teak for the east coast...and they said...use ipe.

[Peter Quinn]

Possibly a type of Eucaliptis, Jarrah maybe? I have an out door shower made of Eucaliptus, similar looking to teak, seems to be wearing well, a little lighter/softer.

[Brandon Shew]

He bought a teak table, but doesn't want to spring for the chairs huh?

As others have said - you could use Ipe, but it's probably just as expensive as Teak. No other woods that I am aware of hold up to the elements outdoors as well as Ipe and Teak - not mahogany, not white oak.... They are both incredibly dense and are nearly completely resistant to rot. When untreated, Ipe weathers to look sort of silvery gray similar to Teak (with a slight purplish tint). Ipe is so dense that it won't even burn.

If these charis are going to be outdoors and he doesn't use Teak or Ipe, he'll be buying another set of chairs in 5-10 years.

[Wade Lippman]

3 years ago I wanted to put a shelf behind my teak bed headboard but didn't want to pay $100 for the wood. I thought hickory had a similar grain and played around a little to get a good stain color.

If you looked at it you would think it is all teak; one of my more successful outcomes.
Hickory is lousy to work with, but it is cheap and durable.

[Dick Sylvan]

I made a garden bench about 7-8 years ago out of "sinker" cypress and
it's been in the backyard since. Here in Houston, we have heat,rain, and humidity that will eat anything and it's doing fine.

[Kevin Groenke]

You might be able to make Jatoba (AKA, Brazilian Cherry?, Coubaril) pass.

It should be ~25% of the cost of Teak. A pair of the benches below have been outside year-round in MN for ~6 years and they've held up well. I suspect a good sanding and a fresh coat of oil would effectively bring the color back. I haven't tried to stain Jatoba, it waxy like it's tropical relatives, so it could be a challenge. I would think an aniline dye would impart some color, I could give it a whirl if you'd like.

Jatoba I would say is quite similar to Ipe in density, interlocked grain etc...

You might also try Lyptus, a plantation grown, fsc certified tropical hardwood that might fill the bill if you can find it.
http://www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WS&Category_Code=Lyptus

-kg

[Doug Shepard]

I've made a few pieces of outdoor furniture from Ipe and it holds up extremely well for that but I think it would be one of the last woods I'd choose for dining table chairs. For one thing they'd be awfully heavy. Plus it dulls bits/blades like nothing else. My experience with it for glueing and staining have not been very positive but I've read other forum posts with apparently fewer issues there. Plus it's already much darker than the teak. It's definitely cheaper than Teak (which is why I used it instead) but I think I'd pass for this application. Just my 2 cents. Wish I had a better suggestion but I think I'd bite the bullet and stick with Teak.

[Peter Quadarella]

Guys, just because it's teak doesn't mean it's for outdoor use. He said it was a dining table - it could be indoor dining ;).

Sorry Chris, I'm too new at this to have a good suggestion for you.

[tim rowledge]

When I made a coffee table/stool (long story) to match some teak living room furniture a few years back I ended up using Iroko (sometimes called African or Nigerian Teak) because it was 1/3 the price. It's nice wood, works like teak and looks like it *except* the bits I used went much darker when finished. I can't actually recall what I used as a finish unfortunately. So I ended up with a top (real teak veneered) somewhat lighter than the base. Sigh.

Might be a possibility for you though.

[Bob Aquino]

Use Jatoba. If the wood is finished unstained, the color and grain are very similar. Jatoba will also vary a bit so you would want to pick out the boards with an eye to matching the current table. Jatoba goes for about 5 a foot by me here in VA and it comes in some very nice wide boards as well.

[Peter Quinn]

Didn't think of it earlier but some cumaru looks similar to teak if you can find a source where you can pull the boards your self. Wide color variation in that species. Heavy and strong.

[Chris Bruno]

I don't have first hand experience, but on NYW, Norm has used cypress on a number of shows where he states specifically that its a good alternative to teak. Just another data point for you.

-Chris

[J.R. Rutter]

I would use tigerwood. It is very similar to teak, but may only be available as decking depending on your local dealers (so check MC!). I recently made some adirondack chairs with it and would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a teak strip and tigerwood strip. Same sort of waxy/oily feel. Beautiful depth of grain. Cheaper than jatoba, too.

I run through several thousand BF of jatoba per year and while some of it looks teakish, it is a harder, more brittle wood that is photoreactive for color, so it will darken and lose some luster over time.

[Oscar Mueller]

I built a boat rack last summer and as the cost of teak was high,I used Afromosia.This wood is supposed to be the closest replacement for teak.I finished it with teak oil and it seems to be holding up very well in the weather.

Oscar

[Chris Dodge]

I didn't expect so many replies! Thanks! This is for indoor use so its not the weather I am worried about. The table is made from reclaimed teak and I am not sure where he got it from but it had no chairs. Mostly I am looking for a wood that will stain well and have a similar look to teak. He wants the table to match as well as possible.

I could go with teak but the cheapest I have found so far is about $14.85/bf and they are local (Utah) so I don't have to add shipping to that cost. Anyone know of any places that would be a lot cheaper in order to make up the cost in shipping?

[Dick Aubochon]

I believe a lot of boatbuilders up here in Maine use either Sapelle or Sipo. I prefer Sipo, although it's not the easiest wood to work with

[Bill Wyko]

You might be able to make Jatoba (AKA, Brazilian Cherry?, Coubaril) pass.

It should be ~25% of the cost of Teak. A pair of the benches below have been outside year-round in MN for ~6 years and they've held up well. I suspect a good sanding and a fresh coat of oil would effectively bring the color back. I haven't tried to stain Jatoba, it waxy like it's tropical relatives, so it could be a challenge. I would think an aniline dye would impart some color, I could give it a whirl if you'd like.

Jatoba I would say is quite similar to Ipe in density, interlocked grain etc...

You might also try Lyptus, a plantation grown, fsc certified tropical hardwood that might fill the bill if you can find it.
http://www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WS&Category_Code=Lyptus

-kg
That will look similar in the beginning but Jatoba will darken over time quite a bit. I have a Teak kitchen and did a wall unit near the kitchen in Jatoba. In the beginning they looked very similar but now that it's a year later, the Jatoba has turned a red color.

[Matt Campbell]

Chris,

I'm surprised no one has mentioned cumaru (Brazilian teak). It's a wonderful match. I have some for $5.50 per BF so I'll send you a PM.

Edit: I see now that I missed Peter's suggestion of cumaru.

[Alex Shanku]

The cumaru I have used before was a very rich brown color with thin, golden lines running through it. It really did not look like teak at all. Additionally, it was very tough to plane and dulled my chisels very quick.
I paid about $7/bf for it when I lived in the midwest.

[Bill Wyko]

BTW anyone notice that the price of Teak has gone through the roof? I used to get it for around $13 to $14 a BF. Now I see it as high as $21 a BF

[Peter Quinn]

Yeah, cumaru is a tough one. We used it in custom flooring, was purchased 10,000BF at a time. Color varied from something very close to teak to something closer to hot chocolate. Spent a lot of time sorting bords into color 'ranges'. Lots of redish boards, greenish boards, some yellows and tans. Some didn't match anything, got put aside for resale. I think at the point of origination its actually several different species grouped into one trade name. Not the easiest wood to work and a very unpleasant odor in the fresh milled stock. Mills well with carbide, could see hand tools and HSS being a problem. Don't know how color changes with age.

[Lee DeRaud]

I don't have first hand experience, but on NYW, Norm has used cypress on a number of shows where he states specifically that its a good alternative to teak.I think that was referring to its weather/rot resistant properties, not its appearance though.

[Matt P]

Afromosia is a teak substitute.. check google..


http://www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WS&Category_Code=Afromosia