Mahogany? What type/kind?

[OCtoolguy]

I have been working on a project using what I thought was red cedar. It turns out to be NOT red cedar. It has a definite color change between red and white and along that line, it has a tendency to split. So, I'm changing over to mahogany to stay with the red color. But, there are so many different types of mahogany and other woods that proclaim to be mahogany, I am confused as to which one to buy. I just checked at Rockler and they have "mahogany" but don't say what kind or where it comes from. Can any of you smarter folks give me some insight before I go ordering or buying something that is wrong? I am attaching a picture of what I'm trying to make for the wife. The eight side panels are the pieces that will be mahogany. Compound cuts. Thanks for bearing with me. I thought I knew it all but find that I'm wrong. LOL!

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

That wood in that photo looks like redheart. Mahogany is not a true red wood and the best mahogany is unavailable or just too darn expensive to use and that is Honduras Mahogany. I stopped using it many years ago as the price rose. I substitute Sapele for Mahogany now . African Mahogany is the one used alot these days but again has become limited in supply . Those are the ones with some red color to it if that is what you are after. Sapele is harder and denser It is also heavier. But machines well. As with all woods over time they do change colors and some mahogany's will get a muddy red color. Not sure if this is any help. 

[OCtoolguy]

7 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

That wood in that photo looks like redheart. Mahogany is not a true red wood and the best mahogany is unavailable or just too darn expensive to use and that is Honduras Mahogany. I stopped using it many years ago as the price rose. I substitute Sapele for Mahogany now . African Mahogany is the one used alot these days but again has become limited in supply . Those are the ones with some red color to it if that is what you are after. Sapele is harder and denser It is also heavier. But machines well. As with all woods over time they do change colors and some mahogany's will get a muddy red color. Not sure if this is any help. 

Thanks John, I appreciate your help. I have been trying to read up on the subject and I did come across the "sapele" name. I always thought that mahogany was more or less red in color. The plans for my project call for "red cedar" and I ordered from Ocooche but they only had one listing for cedar so I went for it. When I got it I realized it had two distinct colors but I didn't know what was going to happen. I have cut 4 of the 8 panels so far but the last one split on me right along the line where the color changes. So, rather than go further, I thought I'd change wood. I have enough cedar to make a couple of extra panels but I'm sort of disappointed in how they are turning out at this point. I practiced on some junk pine and the turned out better with no splits. I'm sort of high centered right now but I'll figure something out.

 

[dgman]

Hey Ray, it is true that most of what is available these days is African Mahogany. I’m not a fan of African Mahogany as it is very grainy, and you never get a good smooth edge like you might with Walnut or Maple. One of my favorite woods to cut to replace Mahogany is Saplee like John mentioned. But you have to pick out your boards as it will vary in color. My advise to you is go over to Woodcraft and find something that appeals to you keeping in mind the the more exotic the wood, the harder the wood will be to cut.

i used to get real Mahogany when I was a member of the local woodworking club. We had a member who owns a professional wood shop. Occasionally a truck load of scraps would show up at a meeting and I would pick out the Mahogany. Some of would be red. Those were the days!

[OCtoolguy]

1 minute ago, dgman said:

Hey Ray, it is true that most of what is available these days is African Mahogany. I’m not a fan of African Mahogany as it is very grainy, and you never get a good smooth edge like you might with Walnut or Maple. One of my favorite woods to cut to replace Mahogany is Saplee like John mentioned. But you have to pick out your boards as it will vary in color. My advise to you is go over to Woodcraft and find something that appeals to you keeping in mind the the more exotic the wood, the harder the wood will be to cut.

i used to get real Mahogany when I was a member of the local woodworking club. We had a member who owns a professional wood shop. Occasionally a truck load of scraps would show up at a meeting and I would pick out the Mahogany. Some of would be red. Those were the days!

Thanks Dan. I did got to the Woodcraft website but they don't list any mahogany at all. I'll drop by the local store and see what they have. Where would a person find sapele? I've never heard of it until today.

 

 

[dgman]

I used to get it at the Woodcraft store in Ventura. But since they changed ownership, I haven’t been able to find it there. You should be able to find it  a lumber shop.

Each Woodcraft store will carry all the serfaced 4 sides that the Catalog shows, but they will also carry unsurfaced wood at a much better price. That’s how I buy wood. 

Edited October 14, 2018 by dgman

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

The truest red wood is bloodwood but the stuff today that they call bloodwood is more brown than red. True bloodwood is deep red and is an exotic oily wood and hard to scroll because it will burn easily. I am lucky because I use to have 2 hardwood dealers within 25 miles of me. One has since shut down but the other still has a great supply that I can look and select through. 

[tomsteve]

heres a good sight describing the different mahoganies:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-finder/?fwp_name=M&fwp_paged=2

ya may want to take a look at brazilian cherry. it is quite similar to most of the exotics,though: different trees can produce different color hues.ive had pieces that were a deep dark red and ones that looked like regular old north american cherry.

 padauk is another one with red hues.however, the red can fade/darken so needs a UV finish on it. that site has a good article on preventing color changes:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/preventing-color-changes-in-exotic-woods/

 

it reads like the red cedar you have may have been cut close to the sapwood. it does splinter/split rather easily, but it does smell good.

[OCtoolguy]

12 hours ago, tomsteve said:

heres a good sight describing the different mahoganies:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-finder/?fwp_name=M&fwp_paged=2

ya may want to take a look at brazilian cherry. it is quite similar to most of the exotics,though: different trees can produce different color hues.ive had pieces that were a deep dark red and ones that looked like regular old north american cherry.

 padauk is another one with red hues.however, the red can fade/darken so needs a UV finish on it. that site has a good article on preventing color changes:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/preventing-color-changes-in-exotic-woods/

 

it reads like the red cedar you have may have been cut close to the sapwood. it does splinter/split rather easily, but it does smell good.

Thanks so much for your help. Yes, it does seem to split right along the coloration line. I have enough wood that I can finish out the needed amount of panels but I'm just thinking that for the next one, I want to be on the safe side. I'll do some reading on those two links you provided. Thanks again.

 

[heppnerguy]

16 hours ago, tomsteve said:

heres a good sight describing the different mahoganies:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-finder/?fwp_name=M&fwp_paged=2

ya may want to take a look at brazilian cherry. it is quite similar to most of the exotics,though: different trees can produce different color hues.ive had pieces that were a deep dark red and ones that looked like regular old north american cherry.

 padauk is another one with red hues.however, the red can fade/darken so needs a UV finish on it. that site has a good article on preventing color changes:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/preventing-color-changes-in-exotic-woods/

 

it reads like the red cedar you have may have been cut close to the sapwood. it does splinter/split rather easily, but it does smell good.

Thanks for the great web site on wood. I found this so interesting that I quickly placed it in my Favorites 

Dick

heppnerguy

[tomsteve]

5 hours ago, heppnerguy said:

Thanks for the great web site on wood. I found this so interesting that I quickly placed it in my Favorites 

Dick

heppnerguy

i get lost on that site dreaming.:)

[heppnerguy]

7 hours ago, tomsteve said:

i get lost on that site dreaming.:)

It is truly an interesting and informative one, for sure

Dick

heppnerguy

[Hermit]

I do t know how to do the quote thing but here is a site for sepele and other woods. https://www.woodworkerssource.com/

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

3 hours ago, Hermit said:

I do t know how to do the quote thing but here is a site for sepele and other woods. https://www.woodworkerssource.com/

I made note of this place in your other post so I will check it out. I asked in that post also but will ask here as well. Have you ordered from these people and if so what type quality of product??  Also how is the service and delivery system??  Thanks again nd excuse the redundant questions. 

[OCtoolguy]

Surprise, surprise!!! I stopped in at Home Depot just on the off chance that I might find some mahogany. Well, they have quite a nice selection. They have it hobby wood and also in s4s lumber. I bought two pieces 24 inches long, 3/4" x 2 1/2". With my military discount and tax it came to right at $10. I was able to match them very closely for color and grain. I have no idea what the species is but the tag says mahogany so I have to believe that it is. Thanks to everybody for your help. I have learned a lot from this thread.

 

[dgman]

Yup, that’s African Mahogany.

[OCtoolguy]

40 minutes ago, dgman said:

Yup, that’s African Mahogany.

How can you tell Dan?

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, octoolguy said:

How can you tell Dan?

 

http://www.wood-database.com/african-mahogany/

http://www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-6-in-x-2-ft-FAS-Mahogany-S4S-Board-5-Piece-Case-OL2321920/207171189

 

Looks pretty darn close. It is the only mahogany cheap enough to make it to their shelves. Many ,many years ago they use to sell another species of mahogany called Sande wood. I made my entire shop from it including cabinets and woodwork. That was a nice wood to work with They got away from carrying hardwoods because people would pick through and all the gnarly stuff was left and wasted. Guess they found a better supplier. I will have to look to see if my Home Depot even carries hardwoods. 

[dgman]

2 hours ago, octoolguy said:

How can you tell Dan?

 

I have purchased this wood at the Depot. It is African Mahogany, it is very grainy which will require  diligent sanding.

[OCtoolguy]

14 hours ago, dgman said:

I have purchased this wood at the Depot. It is African Mahogany, it is very grainy which will require  diligent sanding.

Just out of curiosity, how will the saw blades react to it? Will they go dull faster?

 

[dgman]

1 hour ago, octoolguy said:

Just out of curiosity, how will the saw blades react to it? Will they go dull faster?

 

You should find it cuts beautifully. It will create a lot of fine dust, but easy to cut. If you are cutting full thickness, I would use a #5 or #7 skip tooth blade. It is a softer hardwood so the blade shouldn’t dull any more than if you where cutting cedar or pine.

P.S. I would use FD Polar blades.

Edited October 17, 2018 by dgman

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, dgman said:

You should find it cuts beautifully. It will create a lot of fine dust, but easy to cut. If you are cutting full thickness, I would use a #5 or #7 skip tooth blade. It is a softer hardwood so the blade shouldn’t dull any more than if you where cutting cedar or pine.

P.S. I would use FD Polar blades.

Thanks Dan. I just ordered a gross of Pegas #5 MGT. I was using them on the cedar and they seemed to be the best of what I tried. I don't have any of the FD Polar. I will have to order some.

 

[Hudson River Rick]

I just finished a piece made from Sapele for my wife, she sews fabric pinwheels that we bring to local nursing homes.  Sapele is a very nice wood to work with, and I think it is the Mahogany family.  I will try to post a picture.  I hope it works.

Ornament stand

[OCtoolguy]

3 hours ago, Hudson River Rick said:

I just finished a piece made from Sapele for my wife, she sews fabric pinwheels that we bring to local nursing homes.  Sapele is a very nice wood to work with, and I think it is the Mahogany family.  I will try to post a picture.  I hope it works.

Ornament stand

Those are beautiful. Fantastic work. I love it. Great pic too.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Sapele is indeed in the mahogany family. It is very nice wood to work and used alot in the furniture industry.