Working with Teak Wood
What is Teak Wood?
Teak (Tectona grandis) is native to southern Asia, including Myanmar (Burma), India, Laos, and Thailand, and is now widely grown on plantations throughout the tropics.
Teak has a long history in the nautical world. Loggers in Southeast Asia traditionally girdled selected trees so they would die and dry standing for a few years, which made the heavy logs light enough to float. Elephants dragged the logs to rivers, and monsoon rains carried them downstream. From there, teak went on to a prominent role in the decks and trim of European and American boats.
Teak Wood Characteristics
Woodworkers prize teak for its color. The heartwood ranges from golden to medium brown and darkens with age. Left outdoors without a finish, it gradually weathers to a silvery gray.
Teak sapwood is a lighter cream color. Depending on growing conditions, teak may have a greenish tint, small yellow stripes, or some darker streaks.
Teak is known for its natural resistance to decay and the elements. It has a coarse, uneven texture, a mostly straight grain, and a slightly oily feel. These qualities make teak a top choice for outdoor structures and garden furniture, as well as indoor cabinetry.
Working Properties for Teak Wood
What is Teak Wood Used For?
Teak’s decay resistance and stability have made it a longtime favorite for shipbuilding, and it remains important in boat construction today.
On land, teak is used for everything from doors, window frames, and carvings to cabinets and interior furniture. It’s also made into flooring in a variety of sizes and designs.
Teak also holds up well outdoors in all kinds of climates. Because its heartwood is very resistant to decay, outdoor teak furniture is often left unfinished and allowed to weather to gray.
Machining: Teak is easy to work with hand and machine tools, but it contains a high level of silica, which dulls cutting edges quickly. Carbide-tipped blades and bits are recommended.
Finishing: Teak’s natural oils can interfere with the adhesion and drying of some finishes. To reduce that, wipe the surface with a clean solvent that’s compatible with the finish you plan to use.
Carving: Teak takes fine detail and can be carved with chisels and a mallet, but the silica dulls chisels quickly. If you use power carvers, use carbide cutting burrs.
Gluing: Teak usually glues well, but its oils can interfere with some adhesives. Many woodworkers wipe the joint surfaces with acetone and let them dry before gluing, and epoxy or resorcinol adhesives are common choices.
Staining: Teak doesn’t take stain especially well, and some clear finishes can have trouble curing over its oils. That’s why teak is often finished with a penetrating oil, such as tung oil or teak oil.
Dimensional Stability: Excellent. Teak’s tangential shrinkage is about 5.8%, compared with 8.6% for northern red oak, or roughly a third less.
Sanding: Teak’s oils can clog abrasives, so change sandpaper often. On floors, teak can dish out if it’s screened too much with a dull screen, and the edger can dig in easily.
Hardness/Janka: About 1,070 lbf, roughly 12% softer than northern red oak (1,220 lbf).
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Managing Moisture Content
As with all wood species, measuring moisture content (MC) is essential if you want your teak project to look good and perform well. Many wood moisture meters can be set for a specific species to account for its density.
Moisture meters such as the Orion® 930 make it easy to check teak’s MC before you build and throughout the life of the finished product. If you work with teak, a good wood moisture meter is a worthwhile investment.
Tony Morgan is a senior technician for Wagner Meters, where he serves on a team for product testing, development, and also customer service and training for moisture measurement products. Along with 19 years field experience for a number of electronics companies, Tony holds a B.A. in Management and his AAS in Electronics Technology.
Last updated on October 8th, 2026
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So I was giving a rocking chiller that was made in the ’80s and I don’t know it had some kind of brown paint stain or something on it whatever but also had mold all over it so I was able to scrub off all the mold saturate it with the bleach and cleaned it all off really good and sand it down it’s a nice smooth finish and then I applied some some kills that was designed for covering covering up stains of all kinds including oils and grease and stuff like that and it worked out pretty well it’s also a type of sealer preparing for paint and considering that it was made in the ’80s it is in really really good condition so yeah the wood’s very durable but as I was drilling into it you know just resupport a lot of the joints I did notice it was very difficult to drill into and it did dull out my bit so that’s crazy
When you put a coating on it it will turn back to brown. Wipe some water over it and see.
We inherited a teak Danish teak table from my in-laws. It was purchased in the 1960s. It has two leaves which were darker in colour than the table as the table was exposed to more wear and UV light. So I decided to refinish it so all the pieces would look the same. After sanding the old finish a significant streak of white in the grain of the wood (18″ long by 2″ wide) was revealed. I researched it and think it’s because the wood is from the sapwood of the tree. My plan was to finish it with a clear lacquer but I was wondering if these white streaks could be stained or something else to make them blend in. Your expertise would be appreciated.
Thank you so much for this information. I’m an interior design student. Your post was of great help to me.
Thanks for writing such a good post specially wood and teak wood which is an important wood for carved wooden furniture. We use a lot this wood furniture manufacturing and people enjoy this wooden furniture items a lot. Nice post.