Before you invest in outdoor furniture made from teak, you should invest some time in understanding where teak comes from and how to make an informed purchase decision.
TECTONA GRANDIS is a deciduous hardwood tree indigenous to the dry, hilly terrains of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. It is extremenly dense-grained and highly resistant to decay, swelling or warping. These characteristics make teak patio furniture extremely durable. Teak has a high natural oil content which acts a a natural preservative, allowing furniture made from this wood to be left outdoors for decades.
How durable is teak? Early sailing ships were often made from teak which proved to be impervious to a maritime environment (salt water, rain, high winds). In fact, many of the first outdoor benches were made from old sailing ships. Public parks in England boast recycled teak benches, many of which are nearly centuries old, as England had one of the first modern navy. Today, many ocean-going boats boast teak decks and trim.
Teak ages gracefully-kind of like Sofia Loren or Paul Newman. If left to the elements, teak developsa silver grayish coloring, which over time can be left as is or revived to it's original patina by lightly sanding and then applying a little teak oil.
Although many people prefer machine made furniture, teak furniture manufacturing in Indonesia is generally placed in one of three catagories: handmade, semi-machine made and fully machine made. Contrary to popular belief, the words "handmade" and "furniture" do not go well together when it comes to outdoor teak furniture.
"Handmade" means just that: handmade. An Indonesian "teak factory" that makes handmade furniture looks an awful like a rural village with "artisians" sitting around in their yards carving wood. This may look good in those home-made vacation videos or as neighborhood barbeque conversation, but hand-made means less than perfect furniture. Handmade teak furniture may feature "character" or "unique detailing" but no two will look precisely alike. Handmade teak is probably the cheapest that money can buy, since Southeast Asia boasts some of the cheapest labor around.
Semi-machine made furniture is produced using power tools in a factory. Although this process is more precise than hand-made, the pieces are ultimately fitted by hand. A skilled, experienced worker with the proper training and resources can produce very fine semi-machined products with a high degree of uniformity. Of course, semi-machine made furniture is more expensice to produce than hand-made furniture, but it is almost always worth the difference.
Full machine furniture factories exclusively use power equipment, tooling, dies and other processes intended to take the variability out of the manufacturing process. Two pieces from a full machine factory will be indistinguishable from one another.
Robert Von Voigt
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Robert Von Voigt
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