African Cherry/Makore impressions please.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a customer that used to own a custom millwork business and has stashed away a thousand feet or so of Makore that he has offered to me as part of my pay. The stock is all 12' long, 6/4 and 8/4 and waxed ends, stored well.

I have not worked with this particular species and so would like to hear impressions from those who have.

Thanks, Larry

[Jim Becker]

I've seen some projects from Makore and it's beautiful stuff.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Larry,

I recently bought a few dozen bdft that my lumberyard had bought at auction - paid $3.20/bdft, but I think that's significantly below the fair price.

Like Jim said, it is beautiful stuff. Interesting grain. I made a mirror frame from it, which you can see here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=130684).

It is easy to work, but the dust is an irritant. I'm not bothered by walnut, but had to wear a respirator the entire time I was using the makore.

[Jamie Buxton]

It is good-looking. It is very dense; it almost sinks in water. It does the same thing as cherry: the color changes a lot after you cut it.

Here's a pic that illustrates the color change. These are two doors in a kitchen upper cabinet. They have makore frames and quartered cherry panels. They have a solvent-based varnish finish. At the time of the photo, they'd been in place about three months. The door on the left is sitting normally. The door on the right is sitting inside-out. That is, I took the door off its hinges, turned it so that the inside face is looking at the camera, and put it back in place. That is, the door on the left has been doing color changes due to sunlight, and the door on the right has been doing almost no color change.

The color-change effect isn't a bad thing. It is just something to know about.

[Frank Drew]

Larry,

My only experience is with the veneer; the figured stuff can be brilliant, really exciting material.

If the sizes he's offering interest you (widths, etc.), getting some well aged wood instead of money might be a great deal. He's not asking you to take the whole 1000 bf, though, is he?

[Larry Edgerton]

Thank you for the replies gentlemen!

I did a rough tally and it looks to be 1728 Bd. Ft. I think I will offer him $3500 and see if it flies, if so great and if not its not the end of the world.

I don't really need it so I am not going to pay full boat, but if I get it at a lower price I can afford to store it until I find paying jobs for it, at full price of course.;)

Speaking of color change.... I had a commission that I really wanted to do in cherry, as I had a boatload of it and it would be a nice choice. I cut out the peoples name out of masking tape, stuck it on a nice piece of cherry in the sun for a couple of days before I met the customer at the shop to pick wood. When we got to the cherry I told them that this wood really had their name all over it and pulled it out.

I built it out of cherry.....:)

[Larry Edgerton]

Oh, ya, I forgot.......:rolleyes:

I did a search on the net and read all I could but the one thing I didn't see is how it fares in exterior applications. Because of the size/thickness it would be perfect for doors. I am building a reproduction of an old schoolhouse for my wife, hopefully this summer and will of course build custom doors. Both doors will be under porches, but not so far away from the eves that they will never get wet, one will get morning sun in the late spring,summer,early fall and one no sun at all.

Have you used any outside, or have you seen it for doors? Is it at all naturally rot resistant. Does it warp easily?

[Steve Rowe]

I have used Makore and it is pretty. It is opened grained. It is also high in silica and therefore, very hard on planer blades.
Steve