CONTRIBUTORS- WOOD WORKS
Titanic teak
Regular contributor Stephanie Dyer looks at the properties of teak wood, a hugely popular material the world over.
By Stephanie Dyer
Teak timber and furniture were imported into South Africa in great volumes in the past.
The aesthetic qualities, strength and durability of teak( Tectona grandis) make it hugely popular and it has been utilised globally for centuries in high-end furniture and ship building. Teak timber and furniture were imported into South Africa in great volumes in the past and evidence of this is still seen in many households as family heirlooms, gates of large estates and doors in government buildings.
The timber is still imported today, but on a smaller scale. Regarding global trade, India is both the largest importer of teak and the largest exporter of processed wood products from this species. Vietnam is also a major teak processing country, producing mainly outdoor furniture.
The genus name, Tectona, is from the Greek word‘ tekton’, which means carpenter. The specific epithet,‘ grandis’, means grand or large, referring to the large leaves. Teak is a hardwood and can be found in almost pure stands in a wide variety of soils with good drainage. The natural distribution of Tectona grandis is Myanmar, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Of these four countries, only Myanmar and Indonesia continue exporting unprocessed teak today; India and Thailand now import teak logs. The name teak is often given to timbers that are not true teak and care should be taken to distinguish between such timbers and true teak.
Teak is available on the market as veneer and saw timber and has become very expensive, selling at a higher price than most imported timbers. Because of its commercial value, teak has been planted commercially for some time and many teak plantations exist today in warmer climates( especially tropical Africa and tropical America), producing large volumes of timber.
However, reports indicate that wood from naturally grown trees is still preferred by discriminating users. This is based on tradition and preference is for natural forest teak that has been matured with age. With the progress of teak plantations on experimental and commercial scale in many countries, the area of man-made teak forest is increasing annually and it is becoming important to take these plantations into account as part of the teak resource. Extensive research has gone into the genetic improvement, improving wood properties and shortening the rotation age of plantation teak.
62 FEB / MARCH 2017 //