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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Noah70 on January 30, 2022, 03:29:52 PM

Title: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: Noah70 on January 30, 2022, 03:29:52 PM

Does anyone have any experience using Mahogany as a core material?  I almost never see it mentioned by anyone so suspect it may not be practical?  I was gifted some 1/2” thick boards that appear to be quarter sawn, I ripped and laminated them to give me a 1 3/4” block that I thought I might slice for lams.  I’m sure its mahogany, but its rock hard, can hardly make a mark with thumbnail. Any insight would be appreciated.
Noah

Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: wood carver 2 on January 30, 2022, 04:33:30 PM

There are a lot of types of mahogany and some other woods that look like mahogany. Can you post pictures?
True mahogany can be brittle and if I’m not mistaken they are soft enough to mark with a fingernail.
I built a lightweight bow that has African mahogany ( khaya )in the riser, but to be safe, I backed it up with a piece of beechwood, even though the bow has a light draw weight.
Dave.

Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: Noah70 on January 30, 2022, 10:28:25 PM

Here’s a couple pictures of it, the wider board beside it is Honduras Mahogany to provide contrast. One picture is the edge grain and the other is the flat.  Don’t know what that orange red streak is through the one board in the bundle, it doesn’t follow grain so its not heartwood.
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Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: Noah70 on January 30, 2022, 10:30:19 PM

My bad, same pictures. Try again.
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Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: onetone on January 31, 2022, 11:31:56 AM

Hondo mahogany is a great hardwood in many ways, but in my experience it has an irregular grain structure - try surfacing it with a really sharp hand plane and the erratic grain is obvious. For that reason I wouldn’t invest my time in using as lam wood for limbs. JMO I have used dense Hondo in risers with good success.

Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: Noah70 on January 31, 2022, 12:40:24 PM

Thanks for that!  I was aware of the grain issues from furniture projects years ago, you’ve affirmed my suspicions about making lams.  I’ll just use it for cutting boards or birdhouses or something .  Much appreciated!

Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: wood carver 2 on January 31, 2022, 05:43:19 PM

Here’s a picture of some jatoba. It’s rock hard and I think it would be ok for core lams. It looks a lot like mahogany.
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The next picture is a board of African mahogany. It’s rough and dirty, but the grain shows. This makes nice doors and furniture but it’s too brittle for lams.
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Dave.

Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: Noah70 on January 31, 2022, 08:42:12 PM

Thanks for that Dave!  I’ve got Jatoba on the rack, never thought to look at the similarity cause the guy told me he bought it as mahogany.  Good trade!

Title: Re: Mahogany as a core wood?
Post by: wood carver 2 on February 01, 2022, 04:11:44 PM

We have jatoba flooring in our house and some boards have ribbon striping just like your piece of honduras mahogany.
Dave.