I am making a counter top out of African Teak and was wondering which glue worked best for this application. Teak is an oily wood and I’ve read you should glue soon after the edges are prepared.
Keep in mind I am overseas (Middle East) and the market here does not have a vast selection of glues. I have seen PVA, both white and yellow, and Titebond in stores. I also have some Gorilla glue. One article I read suggested epoxy for teak counters, but I’m pretty confident I can’t find that kind of epoxy here.
Suggestion on which one to use?
Replies
May I suggest that you get some scrap of your Teak.. Wipe both edges with Acetone and let it flash off and then glue with Tightbond III. Let it dry at least one full day and put one half in a vice and give it a wack with a hammer for a test.
I use many woods and I have never had a failure using Tightbond II or III. I do admit that I cannot afford Teak so I have never tried it on that wood. I do use Jatoba alot and it can be a bit hard to glue sometimes. It will cut to a glass like finish with a new blade or router bit. A glass finish does not like glue very well. I rough-up the glue edge with 100 grit sandpaper, wipe with acetone, and then glue using Tightbond glue. Maybe a marine grade glue would be better? Ask around the net for folks that build boats on what they recommend for gluing teak.
I've glued teak (from Thailand and Burma, not African) using Titebond and also Gorilla Glue. Both work very well. If the counter is going to be under wet conditions then I'd prefer the Gorilla glue, but if it's relatively protected from water then Titebond is fine.
You don't need to be concerned about glueing up quickly. If you're using Titebond then take a rag and wipe down the surfaces with acetone or alcohol just prior to glue-up. If you're using Gorilla Glue, then take a rag and dampen the surfaces with water before glue-up.
You're somewhere in my neighborhood. Wanna tell us more specifically where you are?
Thanks for the advice
Thanks for the good advice and suggestion for the test. I would not be buying teak in the States either, but this cost about $3/bf here in Saudi (Dhahran). Burmese teak runs about 4 times that.
Teak Adhesive
I have been using Titebond III on my sailboat projects. On my test pieces the wood broke first. I have not tried Gorilla glue. If you are going to use it, make sure it is fresh.
I have noticed that teak surfaces seem to glaze over much more noticeably than other wood.
Don
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