[Public-List] Teak Inlays

[Greg Hounsell]

That's great!

Thank you

Greg
592

On Sun, May 19, 2024, 1:10 a.m. Stephen Gwyn via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Here are some pictures of my cockpit seats under construction:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/hGhxLvDAU543eiHC6
>
> I gouged out the existing teak plywood with a dull chisel. Some was rotten,
> some was be very solid. The cavity remaining was about 3/4" deep (if I
> recall correctly), with 45  degree slopes around the edges.
>
> This is one of the rare occasions where I has to buy teak as opposed to
> using reclaimed teak. I planed it down a bit with a thickness planer (not
> mine). If I was doing it again, I would have planed it less, and left the
> wood a bit raised relative to the fiberglass, so water would drain better,
> and so I could sand more.
>
> I cut the teak in the pattern shown in the photos. 4 edge pieces with
> bevels on one side, and two middle pieces. Only on piece is actually a
> rectangle. I wouldn't change the basic design if I was doing it again, it's
> well nigh perfect.
>
> Measure twice and cut once they say.
> I measured about 10 times before cutting, and I still made mistakes.
> Measure at least 20 times, and make sure you get the angles right. I used
> the lengths and a bit of trigonometry to get the angles; more accurate than
> a protractor.
>
> Two of the corners are 90 degrees. The other two are slightly larger and
> slightly smaller. Something like 94 and 86 degrees. I don’t remember
> exactly. Half that is 47 and 43. Although I had a very good compound
> mistress saw (still not mine) I kept on dialing in 47 when meant 43 and
> vice versa. So some of the long edge pieces became short edge pieces. But
> if I had made one more mistake, I would have had to buy more teak. To make
> the cut on the long angled piece was left slightly overlong, screwed at the
> ends to a throwaway board at just the right angle, and then run the table
> saw. Then it was cut to length, cutting off the screw holes.
>
> Other than the mistakes, I'm mostly pretty happy with the design. But I cut
> with the idea that the gaps bewitched the boards would be 3/16". If I was
> doing it again, I'd do it with 3/8" gaps. First because the one or two
> 1/16" mistakes I made wouldn't show as much, second because getting the
> epoxy into the gaps would have been easier.
>
> Speaking of epoxy... I used West System Gflex, tinted black using West
> System black pigment. I taped off the edges first. Then I coated the inside
> of the depression in the fiberglass. I carefully placed the boards and
> squished them in to the goo. Epoxy doesn't need clamping to be strong, so
> just left them there overnight.
>
> The next day I mixed up more Gflex and and pigment, and filled in the gaps.
> This was a bit tiresome; I used a syringe. Bigger gaps would make this much
> easier, and resulted in fewer bubbles.
>
> When it was done, I removed the tape and cleaned up a few mistakes with
> acetone.
>
> When all was thoroughly set, I sanded everything level. Teak is hard! I
> used a belt sander to start, then moved down to a palm sander, then sanded
> the last few scratch marks out by hand.
>
> I did the initial removal of the teak on the boat, because that kept the
> lids in place. But it was January, so I did the epoxying stage inside. I
> worked on the living room coffee table as you can see in the pictures. I
> left sheets of plywood over the locker openings.
>
> I hope that helps. Overall, I'm medium satisfied with the result after 6
> years. But, I could do a better job if I was doing it again.
>
> SG
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