Teak
Scientific name:
Tectona grandis L. F.
Geographic origin:
Southeast Asia, India, Camboya and Vietnam. Introduced in the tropical regions of western America.
- Sapwood: Yellowish white colour to greyish colour.
- Heartwood: from yellowish brown to dark brown with frequent dark grey shades.
- Fiber: Straight.
- Grain: medium size to rough.
- Defects: ''''greasy wood'''' with silica and chalky deposits
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Capacity of being impregnated
- Sapwood: Low capacity of being impregnated
- Heartwood: No capable of being impregnated
Mechanical properties
- Resistance to static flexion 1,020 kg/cm3
- Elasticity module 110,000 kg/cm3
- Resistance to compression 630 kg/cm3
Mechanization
- Sawing process: problems arise from the high silica content that wears away tools very fast and produces allergy to workers.
- Drying process: From low to very low speed. Little risk of deformation and crack formation.
- Planing process: Ordinary difficulties due to the hardness. Good bending
- Gluing process: Important difficulties due to its oleoresins content, above all when using alkaline glues.
- Nailing and screwing process: Pre-drilling is required
- Finish: Diffciulties described in the gluing process
Physical properties
- Apparent density at 12% humidity 0.69 kg/m3 semiheavy to heavy wood Density 450kg/m3
- Dimensional stability
- Volumetric contraction coefficient 0.33 % highly stable wood.
- Relation between contractions 1.88 tendency to deformity
- Hardness (Chaláis-Meudon) 4.1 semi-hardwood
Observations
- A destacar-ne l'alta durabilitat. Molt bona resistència a la humitat ia l'atac de fongs i insectes. És difícil trobar fustes que ofereixin una durabilitat similar sent tan lleugeres, el més habitual és que siguin molt més denses.
- Té un preu molt elevat. Tot i que les explotacions són cada vegada més nombroses la demanda ha crescut en més proporció elevant el seu preu. Hi ha explotacions a Àfrica i Amèrica Central i del Sud. Però aquesta fusta no aconsegueix les propietats de la teca original de Birmània.
