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View Full Version : What would you do with this piece of wood?



Malcolm Schweizer
12-14-2016, 2:31 PM
I stopped by my supplier today and they had this amazing piece of 20" wide 4/4 mahogany, 10' long. I haven't bought it yet. What would you build with such a piece of wood?

349478

Jim Koepke
12-14-2016, 2:40 PM
A cabinet to hold knick knacks or china would be a good use.

Maybe a lingerie cabinet for the wife?

jtk

Malcolm Schweizer
12-14-2016, 3:29 PM
Well, I like how you think! I was thinking more along the lines of a hall table of some sort, or a trestle table- something to show off the wide plank of wood. The problem is this stack appears to be African Mahogany, unlike thick stuff that they get, which is much darker, and ribbon striped.

That said, on the stack of the darker mahogany, which is much prettier, and is sawn into 8/4, there is an 18" wide, 9' long plank that could make a hall table and, minding the cuts, you could get the top and legs all from one piece. He is supposed to get in another shipment soon, and expecting 12' lengths, which I am probably going to hold out for. I just liked this piece and thought it would be interesting to hear the ideas of others on how to incorporate it into a design.

This guy gets some amazing chunks of wood, but it's very rough sawn, and usually fairly crooked. The ones that aren't crooked have a lot of spring in them and I never know what they are going to do once I saw into them. Typically I saw them thick, let them sit, even throw them on the hard concrete to work out the tension, and then final dimension them.

John Lanciani
12-14-2016, 3:50 PM
I agree with the hall table, or 3 coffee table tops. It would be a shame to rip it down for anything else. Another use would be a six board blanket chest. It is plenty long to do the four sides.

Pat Barry
12-14-2016, 3:58 PM
I stopped by my supplier today and they had this amazing piece of 20" wide 4/4 mahogany, 10' long. I haven't bought it yet. What would you build with such a piece of wood?

349478
Whatever it is you are going to need more than one piece of it.

Brian Holcombe
12-14-2016, 4:03 PM
Do you have access to Honduran mahogany? I'd pass on African mahogany and buy Honduran.

Sam Murdoch
12-14-2016, 4:04 PM
I like the idea of a 3 piece table all continuos panels - 1 leg, to the top, to the other leg (left to right - or the other direction :)). Stretcher made of something else and maybe with a small drawer.

Joe Bradshaw
12-14-2016, 7:56 PM
I would make a bunch of shallow platters/wall hangings.
Joe

David Eisenhauer
12-14-2016, 8:00 PM
I have never had wood move as much as what I was sold as "African Mahogany". very pretty wood, very moving wood. Rails and stiles (3/4" thick, 2-1/8" wide) would move overnight and I had a lot of raised panel doors to build. I finished with my typical Transtint-dewaxed shellac primer-three coats of water based poly (for kitchen use) and still had doors move.

Malcolm Schweizer
12-14-2016, 8:23 PM
Yes, I usually pass on the African Mahogany. It is not as dense, has tricky grain, and moves like mad. This was a unique piece and I thought about getting it. The local mahogany is way better and so dense that it sounds like marble when you knock two pieces together. I do love the blanket chest idea and I need one of those. I'm probably going to pass altogether and see what comes in on the next batch.

Bruce Page
12-14-2016, 8:56 PM
It would make a nice blanket chest with dovetail joinery.

Or.. I would ship it postpaid to Bruce Page. (PM for address) :cool:

Prashun Patel
12-14-2016, 9:13 PM
If you don't know, don't buy it. You have suffiicient experience and ability to know that, Malcolm. Resist the temptation.

Tony Shea
12-14-2016, 9:23 PM
I agree, pass it up. Some of that "African" Mahogany is just not decent material at all. I have never liked the stuff personally. I would not use Mahogany unless it is Honduran at the very least. And even then some people will sell Honduran and it winds up being something different altogether. Not even sure how they can even call the some of the examples of "African" mahogany at all. Keep on looking.

Malcolm Schweizer
12-15-2016, 6:36 AM
If you don't know, don't buy it. You have suffiicient experience and ability to know that, Malcolm. Resist the temptation.

Thank you, voice of reason. I'm sorry for the way I have pushed you into that dark corner of my mind lately. :-)

Malcolm Schweizer
12-15-2016, 6:44 AM
I agree, pass it up. Some of that "African" Mahogany is just not decent material at all. I have never liked the stuff personally. I would not use Mahogany unless it is Honduran at the very least. And even then some people will sell Honduran and it winds up being something different altogether. Not even sure how they can even call the some of the examples of "African" mahogany at all. Keep on looking.

Yes, I agree. These guys usually get Caribbean/South American sourced mahogany that would blow you away, and lately (a) they jacked up the price, (b) they started getting 9' cuts as opposed to the 12-14' cuts they used to get, and (c) they are getting some African stuff. I am quite concerned because the beautiful Caribbean mahoganies have kind of become a trademark of my work. I'm afraid it's a sign of the times. I am very careful to explore the source of my supplier's wood. It's easy to get non-CITES certified woods here, although it is illegal. This guy is legitimate and careful with what he gets and from where. He had told me he was going to explore a potential new supplier. I made sure I let him know I don't plan to buy African Mahogany.

...but this wide piece I did kind of like. I think you've all had that piece of wood that just called you out and said, "hey, make something out of me!"

george wilson
12-15-2016, 8:40 AM
Too bad that a 20" wide slab of mahogany(African here,which is not a true mahogany),is thought to be a great rarity. In 1963,when I started my first year of teaching shop,we were supplied with what were called the "back boards" from cutting off slices of veneer. It was up to 3 feet wide! 20" was nothing special!! We had so much of it,we called it "Monogany" (we coined the word derived from monotonous), out of boredom with it!!:) It was about the only type of wood we had,if I recall correctly.

Fortunately,one of the 2 wood shops had a 36" Crescent thickness planer to deal with it.

Some of the pieces of 100 year + old mahogany slabs I now have were back boards. The back board was the about 3/4" thick piece of wood that the machine had to grip firmly in order to allow sheets of veneer to be cut from it. These back boards were no longer useful to the veneer mill,and were laid aside to be sold to who ever wanted them. The back side of these boards were left rough hewn with adzes where ever it was cut down. The clamp marks can still be seen on their edges. That's how you can recognize a back board. Still perfectly good wood to use.

BTW,I still have 1/28" thick Japanese Tamo veneer custom cut for the 1959 Cadillac ElDorado interiors if you are trying to restore one of them. Rare as hen's teeth!! Now,veneers are cut so thin (1/40" to 1/128" ),it is a wonder if you don't sand through them!!! Penrod,Jurden and Clark,a big veneer mill on Norfolk was not too far from Old Dominion College when I went there. We thought $2.50 a board foot for 3/4" Brazilian Rosewood back boards was expensive back then!! OH,for a time machine!!! You could buy whole sheets of any kind of veneer,whatever size,for $1.00 each from the left overs bin!! I still have some of those. I hardly ever had more than a few dollars in my pocket,and made guitars for $150.00 at the time,in the Art lab. College cost $500.00 a year. Our Industrial Arts building was a left over WWII barracks. I liked the place,though the concrete floor was cast like an ocean of waves. We had a retired Marine drill instructor for a teacher. His hobby was playing snare drum to John Phillip Sousa marches on records.:) This guy was totally by the book. I liked him a lot,but he was not as skillful as most of his students. All but I was a retired Navy chief(or there abouts), going to college on the G.I. bill. I was the ONLY student fresh out of high school. I really liked that group. They went to college,then taught shop for several years to boost their retirement,then retired again.

One of them had had a 20 MM cannon shell go into his mouth and emerge just below his jaw bone hinge in the back of his mouth. It had blown his whole cheek off. I never knew it till he told me about it. The surgeons cut a slab off of his leg and very skillfully grafted it onto his cheek. There was still a roundish scar where he shell exited,where no hair grew. He had sort of a permanent squint in his right eye. He told me that every morning he was really shaving his leg!! He always left a few days worth of black beard on his face to hide any scars where they sewed it on. I never did notice,like I said. He was a very nice guy,as were all the rest.

Dave Haughs
12-15-2016, 1:26 PM
I'd stick it on the wall rack with all the other pieces of wood I couldn't pass up and eventually use it for a clamp rack or jig....

Malcolm Schweizer
12-15-2016, 1:29 PM
I'd stick it on the wall rack with all the other pieces of wood I couldn't pass up and eventually use it for a clamp rack or jig....

For the win!

Glen Canaday
12-15-2016, 5:44 PM
Guitars. Then sell them for bux, and do it again.

Allen Jordan
12-16-2016, 1:13 PM
Do you have access to Honduran mahogany? I'd pass on African mahogany and buy Honduran.

I agree. I really dislike African Mahogany. So soft and stringy, and it warps really easily.