Moisture Content While Gluing Teak
Advice on adhesive choice, surface prep, and moisture content for gluing Teak. September 7, 2011
Question
I need to glue teak boards for internal use. Some are going to be 1/4'' thick onto high quality ply and the other is 2" thick as a frame. I would be grateful for any tips and info regarding the gluing of teak. Since it's oily wood what should be the moisture content for working with?
Forum Responses
(Adhesive Forum)
From contributor M:
Moisture content less than 12% for gluing teak in general, but for gluing to ply, it should be the same as the substrate. Sand the glue surface (60 or 80) and wipe with acetone immediately prior to glue-up (allow acetone to flash off). Titebond is fine for this.
From the original questioner:
Great. What about working with solid 2'' teak, which I need to use for a door frame? Any issues when working with thick teak?
From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
The MC when you manufacture something should be close to the expected MC in use. This is to minimize moisture changes in use and the resultant shrinking or swelling. As teak shrinks and swells so little with moisture changes, you can be 3 to 4% MC off with no problems; oak should be within 1% MC.
From contributor F:
The fabricators and woodshops related to the marine and furniture industry, here in the southeast use epoxy almost exclusively when working with teak. Yes the last step regarding acetone wipe must become a matter of routine and not neglected or minimized. It removes a lot of oily dust and loose fiber from the joining surfaces and greatly improves the visual line by enabling it to be a thinner, tighter glue line.
From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
Check the archives here for info on gluing with epoxy, including that a uv stabilized epoxy must be used and that a thin glue line (too much pressure) is a weak bond.
