: Thanks for all the responses. That forms a pretty comprehensive picture. I
: have a nice piece of 1/2" X 20' teak that will do nicely.

: Another question, though. With a fairly straight stem only 1/2" wide, is
: there much point to a lamination other than a nice variegated appearance?
: It's a bit simpler to cut it out on the bandsaw as I did the inner stems.

Downside of cutting it out on the bandsaw is that unless the board you cut from has an odd grain pattern, at least part of the piece you cut will have serious cross grain and won't be very strong. A laminated stem is very strong and resists failure in compression which the cut piece would easily fail with.

If you try to laminate the teak you'll need to scrub the surface with acetone first to get rid of the surface oils or the joints will be prone to glue failure, it's a very oily wood.

Bill H.