# What's so great about mahogany?



## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

I keep thinking I need to make something out genuine (Honduran) mahogany. I keep hearing it described as the best furniture wood.

But whenever I've seen genuine mahogany at the store it doesn't grab me. The color and grain don't seem very exciting. It doesn't feel dense or heavy and the pores are rather large. And it's awfully expensive. In short, I don't see what the big deal is about mahogany.

Can someone enlighten me why I should love this wood so much?


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Not all woods are for everyone. Your observations about it are pretty correct. It does have a very uniform grain without any of the wild or interesting grain that other woods have. It comes down to what you like and the use for it. Mahogany has its place just like some other woods.


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## cutmantom (Feb 2, 2010)

furniture makers liked it for carvings, cuts nice like soft wood but holds crisp lines , it will darken with time but I think it looks best with some kind of stain an clear coat


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

It does have a chatoyance that most woods don't possess, and it's really nice to work with….cuts easily, works easily, stays straight, hard enough, etc. But overall, it's not my favorite wood by a long shot.


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## Dautterguy (Feb 7, 2008)

Try" Santos Mahogany". VERY dense, very close grain, not to $$$, Holds it's color. Burns fast,if your saw blade and fence are not alligned correctly, (smells great).


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## bobro (Oct 24, 2014)

> It does have a chatoyance that most woods don t possess, and it s really nice to work with….cuts easily, works easily, stays straight, hard enough, etc. But overall, it s not my favorite wood by a long shot.
> 
> - knotscott


That's about it- mahogany got its reputation in the days of hand tools. It's hard for us to imagine today, but a couple of hundred years ago mahogany was stained and finished way beyond what we'd consider "good taste", and they'd also *paint* mahogany, walnut, and other fine cabinet woods. Workability, stability, strength-to-weight, were more important before machines, plywood, and so on took over.

Now that there's a kind of hand tool revival, I predict we'll see some woods coming into style for custom furniture. Pear wood is fantastic to work by hand for example.


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## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

Use whatever wood you like best that suits your needs. I like mahogany for certain projects but that's a personal preference. I have used inexpensive poplar and made it look very nice with different finishes.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

It is a dream to work with. Machines well and takes a finish beautifully, weather resistant to boot. The color deepens over time like cherry.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Yes, mahogany is one of the nicest woods to work with. It also takes stain better than just about every other wood I've used.

Despite the above, we seldom build anything with the wood. I do like some of the figured veneers though.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

As an instrument maker, Honduras Mahogany, African Mahogany, and Sapale are all prized as easy to work woods that when finished, give off a really deep glow and are fairly tonal. Personally, I love to work with Sapale. Easy to shape, not too brittle, cuts easy, lightweight. African is my second, with its rich grain and deep glow which only shows up with a grain enhancer clear stain or oil finish. Once you start to use these woods, you know…

Just look at the backside of any Gibson or Epiphone guitar with a mahogany backside. You'll see what I mean.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. Very enlightening. Just to be clear, I'm not knocking mahogany. I just don't understand the allure of it given the price.

I do like the chatoyancy. But I thought that only shows up in quarter sawn mahogany? I've looked at both flat sawn and quatersawn African mahogany (and used the latter) and I've only seen the ribbon stripe/chatoyancy in the quarter sawn variety. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I tend to dislike staining wood. I usually get wood that I like the natural color of (for example, walnut) and staining it changes that color. (One of my main exceptions is oak. I almost always stain oak). What does mahogany look like unstained?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

I've run across / worked with (maybe) four types of mahogany, and haven't enjoyed any of them very much at all. Wasn't fun to cut, or particularly easy. And I work mostly with hand tools. Maybe I just got bad stuff, who knows. In other words, it's been interesting to see the other comments so far. Good post!


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Purrmaster, I'm not sure when it shows up. I do know that I have both in the sapele I bought from the organ company. I was lucky enough to answer a CL ad about an hour after it went up and got about 120 bd. ft. of select sapele for $300. Most of it is F2S 4/4, but some of it is F4S 8/4. Most of it is 6" to 9" wide planks, and they were nice enough to cut them down to 8' for me to put it in my Suburban.

Anyway, here's some pics. You can see the upper board is sapele, flatsawn. The large plank on the bottom is sapele, with flame running through it. It looks to be more quartersawn. The little piece is a cutoff of African mahogany I had lying around that I put on to show the difference. All wood is raw, planed.


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## ric53 (Mar 29, 2014)

Creates a lot of fine dust when you sand it. I need to use a dust mask and then vac the shop. Not my favorite but have use a lot of african mahogany and most projects come out looking fine. I really like the ribbon effect.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

I too like the ribbon effect on African mahogany. It's quite striking. The downsides I've run into with African mahogany (aside from price) is that it's quite soft which makes it liable to get dented or gouged. Also, I think the color fades over time. I have a box made out of the stuff (finished with shellac) and it looks duller and less colorful than it was when it was new.

Perhaps I'll pass on genuine mahogany for now an try sapele and santos mahogany. I keep wanting to try wenge but I can't justify the cost.

Wish I could get a little osage orange locally and try it out.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

For boat building, it's better than teak.

Cheers,
Brad


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I use a LOT of Khaya (African mahogany) and my supplier get's it all quartersawn. It looks fabulous, with just a coat of wax. I use sapele a lot as well.


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## summerfi (Oct 12, 2013)

There are many different woods that are called mahogany, and they literally grow over much of the world. Hence, there is great variability in mahogany. Some is soft and plain, some is hard and fancy. Some is light and some is dark. Some is easy to work and some is harder, i.e. can be brittle and splintery. Given the right piece of mahogany with the right finish though, there is scarcely a more beautiful wood in the world.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Chattoyance is different from flecking.

Most woods can show chattoyance if hand planed
with a keen iron at an appropriate pitch. The iron
should protrude just a little and the plane stroke
quick with firm pressure. The heat and speed
aids in getting the most burnished surface. Sanding
dulls chattoyance. Some figured and quilted woods 
will show the effect even if sanded.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Genuine mahogany is a joy to work, very stable, weather and rot resistant, and has beautiful chatoyancy. The downside is it's fairly soft and if making a table top needs a very hard finish.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

It's a beloved cabinet wood from the 19th century:
easily carved and worked with hand tools, stable and
it came it wide boards and veneers.

Only walnut is second, overall, imo. Mahogany 
carves better and puts on an occasional show
of dramatic figure. Walnut doesn't carve so
well but it works and looks beautiful otherwise.

Then there are the tough class of woods like oak,
ash, hickory.


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