mahogany for a rocker

[Eli Frye]

I had the opportunity to purchase some 2" honduras mahogany at very reasonable price and would like to know if anyone has experience with this material. The project I have in mind a "Hal Taylor Design" rocker. Would appreciate your input.
Eli Frye

[Brian Penning]

I've made a Maloof style rocker out of mahogany.
Went very well as far as shaping the wood, laminations, etc. Will likely make another one with it.

http://sitebuilder.cgi.netfirms.com/extras/public/photos.cls/serve?id=0503477ef6308f4df98e3cbaeb488b91e15a&ts=20100728135511&width=960&height=738&filter=none&accountId=ANFI20IN250B&instanceId=46222a0db9202caf25f34a9fa569da35&slideview=true

[michael craigdallie]

the only problem i have had in the past with mahogany is that you sometimes get reversing grain which isn't the most fun to plane but other than that it is a beautiful wood which is nice to work with.

cheers,
michael

[Rick Gooden]

I work almost exclusively with Honduran Mahogany, probably 1500 bf over the last year, and you are about to be spoiled. The wood mills beautifully and finishes the same way. The only problem is all of the fine red dust everywhere so be prepared to clean the shop a lot. If you want to even out the finish and give it an aged look, instead of the salmon color, get some potassium dichromate to accelerate the oxidation. Have fun.

[Dino Drosas]

I made my first Maloof style rocker using mahogany. You will certainly enjoy working with mahogany and it will spoil you. My wood of choice!

[Prashun Patel]

African mahogany can have a lot of grain switching. That's not so much of a problem in true mahogany.

On any rocking chair, you have to be careful about short grain situations. If your pieces have long, sweeping grain, it's great for a rocking chair (specifically the spindles and rear legs).

That being said, Hal Taylor's design uses laminations for some of the critical items, so it's not so much of an issue as with the plans from other designers.

These rocking chairs require a lot of sculpting. So beware of using any wood that's prone to tearout (if yr planning to use bladed handtools for a lot of the sculpting)