What kind of mahogany does Menards sell?

[Phil Thien]

I've noticed a few times now that Menards sells some mahogany that is shrink-wrapped (along with shrink-wrapped cherry and I think a little walnut).

The wood appears to be a little on the softer side. Very little grain pattern to it.

What is that stuff? This isn't the same stuff they use on boats, is it? It would seem too soft. But I don't know.

[Andrew Joiner]

I'd ask Menards but it's probably "Philippine Mahogany".
This has always bugged me because it ISN'T mahogany at all!
That's like calling pot metal from Asia "Asian Cast Iron"
Most but not all "Philippine mahogany" is Lauan.

Lauan, meranti and all the woods sold as ""Philippine Mahogany" have some value in woodworking, but won't come close to true Mahogany.

[Phil Thien]

I'd ask Menards but it's probably "Philippine Mahogany".
This has always bugged me because it ISN'T mahogany at all!
That's like calling pot metal from Asia "Asian Cast Iron"
Most but not all "Philippine mahogany" is Lauan.

Lauan, meranti and all the woods sold as ""Philippine Mahogany" have some value in woodworking, but won't come close to true Mahogany.

Now that you mention it, that is EXACTLY what it looks like. It looks like a "mahogany" skinned door.

[Howard Acheson]

I agree, ask Menards. But, if they are selling it as a premium wood, it may very well be african mahogany. It's impossible to get true Cuban mahogany and Honduran mahogany is very expensive. African mahogany is a true mahogany but of a different sub-species. It's not near as nice as Cuban or Honduran but it's a lot more reasonably priced. It's what most folks use these days. Remember also, there are a number of different grades of mahogany just as there are for all hardwoods. "Select A&B" is going to be nicer--and more expensive--than grade "D". You have to know what you are getting.

[Phil Thien]

If I was to find (for example) a shipyard that had some, what would be prices one would expect to pay for Cuban mahogany? What about Honduran?

[Jamie Buxton]

If I was to find (for example) a shipyard that had some, what would be prices one would expect to pay for Cuban mahogany? What about Honduran?

Honduran mahogany is around $10 per bd ft at my local suppliers. Cuban is pretty much unavailable. There are some folks in south Florida who occasionally get some when a hurricane blows down a tree, and there is an outfit harvesting plantation trees on some Pacific island -- Fiji maybe. The prices are generally of the "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it" class.

[Eiji Fuller]

From how you describe it it is deffinately Meranti. Often used as a mahogany substitute. Soft and fuzzy. stains nicely. I wouldnt call it a furniture grade material though. but I see pine furniture all the time so...

[Matt Zettl]

It seems that as time has gone on, the term "mahogany" has been applied more and more loosely to a wider variety of lumbers. So called Philippine mahogany, most commonly red luan as previously mentioned, is simply garbage and not suitable for quality work. African mahogany, Khaya ivorensis, has a nice appearance, but can be frustrating to work, especially the quartersawn material which has an interlocked, reversing grain with a tendency to tear out. This wood is not a subspecies of mahogany, it is a different genus.

To my mind, true mahogany belongs to the genus Swietenia, and includes Cuban (Swietenia mahogani) and Honduran ( Swietenia macrophylla). There are some other species as well, but they are not as common. As already noted, Cuban is very difficult to find and extremely costly. Honduran is available and expensive, becoming more scarce, and no longer legally exported from some South and Central American countries. It is a wonderful wood to work with, perhaps unequalled in workability by any other commonly available wood.

Some of these comments represent my own opinion and biases, and others may disagree. However, I think it is important to properly identify the wood used in a piece. When I say something is mahogany, I mean true mahogany from the genus Swietenia. If it is Khaya, then I will say African mahogany to distinguish it from the former. I would not even use the term mahogany to describe luan under any circumstance.

So, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.;)

Matt

[Jason Varner AF]

Not sure if you're in the Tampa, Fl area, but I came across this listing last week. If it truely is what he says it is then I would think it should be the same as Cuban Mahogany. He wants $68 per bdft. A little too steep for me, but it sure would be tempting if I had the extra funds!

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/mat/1719302614.html

v/r
Jason

Here's another listing, but for African Mahogany. At $9 per bdft it's not bad.

http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/mat/1725585781.html

[Phil Thien]

Thanks for all the info, guys.

How long ago did Cuban vanish from the supply chains? Was it available twenty years ago?

[Steve Schoene]

I agree. I'd limit true mahoganies to genus Swietenia. African mahogany is in the same family--meliaceae, but the family classification is too broad to be a meaningful classification for woodworking. That would make not only African mahogany (genus Khaya) but Utle, sapele, Spanish cedar, as well as some varieties marketed as Phillapine mahogany (not luane, though). As an example, our domestic hardwood cherry is in the family rosaceae which also includes roses.

[Jamie Buxton]

Thanks for all the info, guys.

How long ago did Cuban vanish from the supply chains? Was it available twenty years ago?

The primary source for Cuban mahogany was Cuba, so Cuban mahogany has been unavailable in the US for at least 50 years (when we stopped trading with the Castro-led country). Actually, I think it was in short supply long before that.

[Frank Drew]

How long ago did Cuban vanish from the supply chains? Was it available twenty years ago?

I think it's been unavailable commercially for a lot, lot longer than that (the late Thirties, maybe?), but over the years small stashes occasionally pop -- sometimes lumber, sometimes veneer, and usually from private sellers. As noted, hurricanes in Florida, which is in Cuban Mahogany's natural range, will often yield a number of fallen logs.

Blue Moon Exotic Wood sells Cuban Mahogany (swietenia mahagoni) grown in the Pacific, from stock transplanted years and years ago.

I completely agree with Matt Zettl's thoughts on Mahogany. For my money, and even though there are a number of other excellent woods, top quality genuine Mahogany (Cuban, Honduran, etc.) is the best all-around furniture timber; a lot of what's sold in factory furniture, unfortunately, is poorly selected wood that's been badly finished.