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Thread: Need advice on glueing Teak

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    Posts
    1,360

    Need advice on glueing Teak

    First let me say , I am not a boat builder. Rather I am a woodworker who happens to be building a project using Teak. I have an old, old bench that was my Dad's when he worked for the Atlantic Coastline Railroad many, many years ago. It has been passed around , used outdoors ao.e and is rotted and deteriorated. It is mostly together but bugs have eaten away at the seat slats and the rails and legs. There are no active bugs in it now. The metal handrIls/seat dividers are still in great shape. My plan is to rebuild that same bench (same design and size/shape) as the original . I have had 3-4 Teak boards(4/4) that I bought 25 years ago from another woodworker. I needed some 8/4 for the legs and rails. I have gotten that and milled up the lumber into what I need to build the bench. I am going to use my Domino with the Sipo(outdoor) loose tenons. What I am uncertain about is what glue would be best to use? I have used Wezt Systems glue on other projects occasionally so if that's the correct glue, I'll use it. I recently saw a video from. MYS-Teak.com saying that Titebond ll or Titebond lol works fine with Teak.
    Please give me your thoughts on which is best. This bench will be used OUTDOORS.

    Thanks in advance for any advice,
    Jim

  2. #2
    I can't help much ...but I'm awake. Oops, forgot it's "woke" now ! Often the teak is wiped down with a solvent ,to
    remove the oil that is naturally in it, so that the glue bonds well. Don't use lacquer thinner as they say it has some oil in it. I think I'd use acetone.

  3. #3
    I would wipe it down with acetone to remove the surface oils and glue it with TiteBond III, which is waterproof and best for any outdoor projects. I've use TB III on IPE, (a very similar oily wood like teak) and it worked great.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    San Diego, CA
    Posts
    241
    I vote for West Systems for teak and for outdoor. Have done a mile of teak and other outdoor wood projects. Not a boat person but worked with one
    on and off for the past 30 years. He taught me the ins and outs of West Systems resin.
    Epilog Mini 24-45W, Corel Draw X6, Photoshop CS5, Multi Cam CNC

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    10,326
    I've seen articles showing gluing comparisons on teak. The conclusion is that wiping with solvents doesn't help, and may hinder. The best results were from gluing immediately after milling. The waxes and oils don't have time to migrate to the gluing surface.

  6. #6
    Jamie, thanks,I had not seen that no solvent note. Only experience I have with teak is a few repairs, made so long ago
    that I can't remember what glue was used. I'm guessing it was plastic resin glue, and certain that is what I would use
    now.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    2,779
    You can certainly test the short term strength with and without the acetone wipe.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    Posts
    1,360
    Finally got mortises(Domino cut) and received sipo dominos ordered. Close to glue up. I called Titebond and they said that the TB3 works great with Teak but he recommended cleaning out mortises with acetone 5-6 minutes before glue up. Planning to follow that advice....shouldn't hurt either way.
    My question today is......my finishing plan is to only apply Teak Oil to it and just do it annually. Should I put light coat on it initially or is the oil in the wood enough for the first year? Also....I have sanded to 180.....wondering about opinions on sanding to a higher grit(400) has any advantages as to sealing it somewhat from moisture?
    Thoughts??
    Pictures coming soon....process and final.
    Thanks,
    Jim
    Last edited by Jim Tobias; 07-20-2020 at 6:24 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Nova Scotia, Canada
    Posts
    280
    I don’t sand teak beyond 220 grit if I’m varnishing it so 180 is likely just fine. I’d put oil on it this year to help protect it from turning grey if that is the goal. You may have to recoat it regularly in NC as you have a long season and hot sun. Post a photo when you get it finished!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    Posts
    1,360
    Thanks for all the advice on gluing Teak. I ended up contacting TiteBond and discussing. I used TiteBond III They advised that I use Acetone to wipe down contact areas(domino mortices) before glue up. I did that, waited 10 minutes and glued it up.....so far , so good. Here is the link to the updated Thread with pictures. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....Railroad-Bench
    Thanks again for the help,

    Jim

  11. #11
    Jim, thanks for posting. Lotta ayes and
    a lot of nays on that one. Good to know what the mfg. says.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    1
    Maybe too late to contribute to this thread but I have bad experience with teak outdoor furniture and TB3. I redid the joints in a number of chairs a couple of years back and most had failed by the end of the following season. I redid them again this year and used Gorilla Wood Glue and so far so good. Now some caveats: the TB3 was old and may have been past it's expiry date. And, there may have been some old glue remaining in the M&T joints. Just my two cents.

  13. #13
    But I would still use solvent. Easiest way for article writing gurus to get to guru- ship is find short-cuts. Birds migrate ...but I'm not
    sure about oil seduced by in-solvents ! If I had ever experieced a failure ...then I'd go back to the gloomy deep thinker
    treatises !
    Last edited by Mel Fulks; 11-29-2020 at 5:42 PM.

  14. #14
    Told to use acetone by two suppliers in the past. The glue that failed if its older then six months it was going downhill, if you didnt stir it it has to be stirred.

  15. Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton View Post
    I've seen articles showing gluing comparisons on teak. The conclusion is that wiping with solvents doesn't help, and may hinder. The best results were from gluing immediately after milling. The waxes and oils don't have time to migrate to the gluing surface.

    Hey everybody I'm going to jump right in and tell you what I know. I work on a small shipyard and we also lay Teak decks. We use bedding compound from Simpson or Sikaflex and neither manufacturer will warrant the bedding compound if the teak hasn't been thoroughly wiped down with acetone.

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