Teak Splitting

[Hartley18]

When I went to check on the boat the other day, I noticed one of our cabin-top teak handrails is starting to split lengthways.. ie. along the grain. It's probably full of crap by now.

Any ideas as to the best filler to use? I'm thinking that epoxy won't flex with the heat and may not stick to the oily timber... would Sikaflex do it, or would that have the same issues??

Thanks,

[artbyjody]

From what I have read - epoxy mixed with teak sawdust will usually do the trick albeit it may not last long term. Depends on how it is cared and varnished and all that jazz...

[SteveCox]

Sikaflex is not going to help stop it from splitting further. Epoxy will work and will be flexible enough but the question is how you treat your teak. Epoxy will break down in direct UV so if you don't varnish your teak it is probably not the best choice. Other adhesives require a tight bond so that begs the question of whether or not you can clamp the split back together. Wiping the teak with acetone just before gluing will take care of the oily wood problem but more detail is needed to give the best answer.

[sailingdog]

Either use epoxy filled with teak sawdust/wood flour or carpenter's glue. If the teak has a split of any size, go with the epoxy.

[Hartley18]

I don't have any teak sawdust (I wonder if walnut sawdust would do?) but epoxy it is then.

The gap is about the thickness of a (big) fingernail, so I'll try this:
1. Clean it out as much as possible
2. Mix up some Araldite (perhaps Bote-Cote would be better?) with a bit of sawdust.
3. Shove that in and clamp it together at the end to close the gap as much as possible.
4. Clean up the mess.

..sounds like fun.

[brak]

I used epoxy with wood dust (the one sold as epoxy filler). It holds fairly well, but you may have to fill a few times as epoxy tends to sag and get absorbed into teak (and over time it separates from teak anyway).
Still, a few of my handrails repaired that way are doing ok for now. Cover it with cetol on the outside, to keep UV protected.

[jmt1972]

I from this woodworkers point of view there are two way to do this. With the epoxy method you first need to flood the crack with denatured alcohol then take standard 1:1 or 2:1 epoxy and thin with 10% toulene. Inject in to the crack. Let it dry. Next mix resin with a bit of talc and inject into the crack-- then put the C-clamp to it. Or the absolute best method is to use Resorcinol glue. Mix it up then clamp.

[poopdeckpappy]

Gorilla Glue & strap clamps, sand it then refinsh it, you'd never know it was there

[merc2dogs]

I've used gorilla glue with good results, rinse the teak with acetone, dampen the wood (unless it's humid) then use a syringe to inject the glue, and clamp.
Normally gorilla glue blends in with the grain when you varnish so it's a nearly invisible fix. If it doesn't blend perfectly, an old woodworkers trick for a not-quite perfect grain match is to trace some grain in with a #2 pencil then varnish

Strong stuff, you'll break the wood before you break the bond.

Ken.

[Hartley18]

Gorilla Glue? Never thought of that.. That will hold an oily wood like teak??

I'll get some and give it a try.. thanks!

Cameron