Honduras Mahogany: worth getting and using for an entry door?

[mreza Salav]

I have been trying to find some genuine Mahogany for an entry door (big project).
There is a local cabinet shop who has closed down and selling a bunch of quality tools (all in a a couple of containers); bought a progress edge sander from them.
They also have some Honduras Mahogany that the owner claims was in the shop for 7-10 years (4/4 and 8/4) but about a month
ago (when they sold the shop) they have moved the wood outdoor(!!) and is covered with poly and tarp. The price is good for what it is (12' or so lengths).
Is it safe to buy and bring it indoor and keep for a few months (to so that it stabilizes) and then use for door? I'm most likely going to make the rails/stiles as a stave core system but still, should be concerned about the fact that the lumber was left outside for a month (or maybe more?!)

thanks

[Peter Quinn]

Check the MC, if it was covered and the MC is less than 15% I think you are fine. It's a good idea to acclimate it until it reaches 10%, maybe a bit less, ,but remember this door will be going outside you don't need an MC down near 7% like for furniture, half the door will live outside anyway. Real Honduran or south American mahogany is a great choice for an entryway, and its become so expensive it would be great to get it at a bargain. I don't think it would really be damaged even if it were left outside, it's a pretty durable species, and if it has been KD it will only take on so much moisture. If you need the material in short order I'd store the outdoor stuff and get other material, if you have the time it's a safe bet.

[David Kumm]

If it looks good it likely is. Hondo is so nice to work with it is worth it for the fun experience. Dave

[Mel Fulks]

Covered up outside would not dissuade me from buying . I would make sure it is indeed genuine mahogany and the price is good . Take a knife ,and plane ,and knowledgable friend if you don't trust your own judgement . If you buy it I wouldn't store it more than a few days before starting project. Most architectural woodworking companies would not use stave core on real mahogany without a spec insisting on it , unless of course ,the door thickness will exceed what the 8 quarter will yield. Real mahogany is the "gold standard " ,why invest more labor in "gold PLATING" when you have bullion?

[peter gagliardi]

Do check the MC . I would definitely bring indoors for at least a couple months. Like Mel said though, it is wasteful in material, and time especially to stave core a solid Mahogany door. Unless it is under a large roof or porch of some sort, you will be going backwards by introducing failure planes at every exposed glue edge/ surface. While it is said the glue is stronger than wood, it does NOT make a longer lasting door. Water will penetrate the outer skin within a couple years, and you will then start to see very thick veneer starting to peel. Not to mention that the trapped moisture will be degrading the core which I assume will be an inferior wood . Everybody has their own way and reasons, but I have remade plenty of stave core doors over the years , including historic reproductions with good old solid wood and true mortise and tenon joinery. I have yet to reproduce a solid wood m&t door though! When exposed to the weather, solid wood is best.
Peter

[Chris Fournier]

I'd want to identify that it is indeed Honduras Mahogany before I got excited, and this isn't easy in reality. Personally I think that you should consider a "native" hardwood - white oak. Get it quartered and it will be gorgeous and due to its availability you can select premium lumber for your project.

[mreza Salav]

Thanks. I'm going to check it this weekend (he is away until then).
If it helps, here is the photo he has posted:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MjQwWDMyMA==/$T2eC16h,%21%290E9s37IeyFBRgpI6k-lw%7E%7E48_20.JPG

He is asking $5/bf for 4/4 and $5.5 for 8/4.

[Jim Matthews]

If the price is discounted off your local purveyor's retail - why not?

It's really stable (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/honduran-mahogany/), with it's radial shrinkage very close to the tangential shrinkage rate.
If you're doing the joinery by hand, you'll soon see what the fuss was all about.

It invites you to carve, it's so forgiving.

If you wanted your door to be outstanding from all the others, now is your chance.

As for a discount on any boards that have developed a cup, twist or bow due to exposure.

[Chris Fournier]

Do some research regarding the retail and wholesale prices of South American Mahogany in Canada and then ask yourself why this material is priced as it is.

[Tai Fu]

Make sure it's actually honduran mahogany as well and not African mahogany... really hard to tell the difference and I for one can't tell them apart. Then there's the vastly inferior Philippine mahogany too, and it's very hard to tell them apart from pictures. One time I bought mahogany sight unseen and got very inferior wood...

[Peter Quinn]

Thanks. I'm going to check it this weekend (he is away until then).
If it helps, here is the photo he has posted:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MjQwWDMyMA==/$T2eC16h,%21%290E9s37IeyFBRgpI6k-lw%7E%7E48_20.JPG

He is asking $5/bf for 4/4 and $5.5 for 8/4.

Honestly, that's not a bad deal for African mahogany at those prices, and it's a serious deal if it's actually south American true mahogany. Not sure if you have the same dealers in CA but look for painted tags on the boards, near the ends on the edges, often identify the species for yard purposes. Not sure why they would sell so cheap, I assume you would,have to buy the whole quantity, I sure would at that cost, I'm sure you could find a use for the extra on a new house somewhere!

[Todd Burch]

I'd buy it in a heartbeat for $5 / $5.50. All of it.

[mreza Salav]

I'm going there to see it. He is also selling some Wenge (have never worked with that).
I wish I could take somebody who is better than me in identifying the species.

[David Kumm]

Mreza, take along a hand plane. Honduran will work very nicely. The pores in the shavings will be pretty tight and the wood should take on a luster. The pic doesn't look like the cheap Phillipine or Meranti but that stuff doesn't work very well even though soft. Brazilian is the wood they use for flooring and is harder. The price isn't bad even for it but Brazilian is not really an outdoor wood. If the wood seems quite hard it is likely that. Dave

[mreza Salav]

Thanks Dave. Based my limited experience african Mahogany is brown (vs the redish tone of Honduran). I think I know the Brazilian one you are talking about (at least two friends have hardwood floorings of that kind); aside from hardness it is not consisntently red (has a bit of light/sap wood at places) w.r.t. Honduran.
I'm thinking of getting all he has (900bf) but don't know where to store it as I'm litterally out of space.

[David Kumm]

African can be reddis pink too. Hondo can be anything from deep dard red- usually the board is dense and heavy- to light pink to orange. Lots of variation. Importers and suppliers also tended to mix a little so a big batch could have more than one type in it. If it looks like the real deal, take it and find a way to store it. I've got a bunch of Brazilian stored with a friend in North Carolina and wish I could store some of yours in Wisconsin. The older stuff could well be superior to what has been imported since the restrictions. Dave

[Frank Drew]

mreza,

I agree with the consensus opinion -- if this is indeed Genuine Mahogany, and if it's nice looking, get all you can even in excess of your present project. For my money, it's the best all-around furniture wood and also has outstanding outdoor capabilities.

Exterior doors, though, often have a tough time of it, with weather and sunlight potentially playing havoc with the joinery and finish unless they have some protection against the elements.

[mreza Salav]

Well today I rented a trailer (smaller than what I had booked as they had given away what I had booked even though had a confirmation :mad:) anyway drove the 1 hour to get the lumber. It didn't help that it was raining heavily. It seems to me it's the real deal (Honduras Mahogany). I got all the 8/4 that was left (over 300bf) and whatever of 4/4 that I could put. I think I overloaded the trailer (blew a tire too...). I'm sad that I couldn't take all of 4/4. Some of the boards are 14" wide but most are in the range of 8-10".

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Here are is a sample board that I planed a bit, can somebody confirm that it is indeed Honduras? It smells and looks like it...

264509264511

[peter gagliardi]

Sure looks it from here.

[Jim Tobias]

Sure looks like it to me. I was fortunate like yourself a few years back to buy some bulk Honduran for a former furniture makers son who had kept it for years thinking he would do something with it. he was about to make a move and did not want to take with him.

Jim

[Peter Quinn]

Congrats, looks like the real deal to me. I smell a beautiful entryway. Enjoy.

[mreza Salav]

Thanks for confirmation. My back hurts after moving these boards. Wide ones are really heavy...

[Mike Cutler]

Nice!

Yes, you have the real deal there. That's a beautiful load of lumber.
Mahogany makes great exterior doors. Teak, Koa and Mahogany are the wood choices of boat builders. It can take the elements, properly finished.

[rudy de haas]

hi:

We have a lot of real honduran mahogany in this house from work done here in about 1992/93 (Well before we owned the place). Its distinguishing characteristic is that it takes on a deep lustrous red color when polished. I get much the same color from jatoba with light oil (so called "brazilian rosewood" oil, but really the rosewood part is imaginary). If the stuff you're looking at is real, the price makes it a total steal. Buy it, dry it. and resell what you don't need at a profit.