Laminating Teak Strips
Advice on adhesive choice, wood prep, and springback when laying up curved laminated members from Teak strips. November 3, 2010
Question
Does anyone have any direct experience strip laminating teak? The first question would be what to expect regarding springback - something like hard maple? Second question would be what glue types were used. I've had success in the past with Titebond for interior applications, but this was with more normal straight line gluing applications where there was no spring back pressure. I'd like to plan this with West Systems but haven't called their tech dept. yet to inquire on the suitability.
Forum Responses
(WOODnetWORK Forum)
From contributor C:
I have never had any springback when doing bent wood laminations in a two part form. The glue holds the strips in place relative to each other.
From contributor A:
We have always used epoxy for gluing teak. Teak must be cleaned with a solvent before gluing to remove the oils. Acetone and lacquer thinner work well. Conventional glues prefer freshly machined surfaces (jointed/planed). The smoother the cut the better for white/yellow glues. Epoxy needs rough surfaces to increase surface area. Running your laminate strips thru the wide belt with 60 grit is the proper prep. Fresh 80 grit hand paper will work on smaller projects.
I would encourage you to purchase MAS epoxies from Jamestown Dist. They have an extra thick resin called FLAG. It does not require thickening. It is the best epoxy for gluing wood in my experience. The West System was designed for wetting out fiberglass laminates. That is why it soaks into wood. You will like the MAS system better, because it is a 2:1 resin/hardner system like System 3. It's also less expensive than West System. Also their hardners are mixable. Meaning you can add slow to fast to come up with different cure times.(Not possible with West System).
Instead of using the pumps, I often use a yogurt cup to measure the resin/hardener. Two yogurt cups resin and one yogurt cup hardener mixes nicely in a one quart bucket. If you are doing laminates I assume you will using large quantities of product so pumps are a pain. What kind of laminates are you making with teak?
From the original questioner:
Great info - thanks! These will be 1" x 3 1/2" S4S planks on a large radius. The orientation is like baseboard moulding on a curved wall. This is just in the quote stages right now so no guarantee on getting the project.
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KnowledgeBase: Knowledge Base
KnowledgeBase: Adhesives, Gluing and Laminating
KnowledgeBase: Adhesives, Gluing and Laminating: Glues and Bonding Agents
KnowledgeBase: Architectural Millwork
KnowledgeBase: Architectural Millwork: General
KnowledgeBase: Woodworking Miscellaneous
KnowledgeBase: Woodworking Miscellaneous: Bending Wood
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