Sapele

[Nike Nihiser]

I have a lead on some sapele for $4bf (central Ohio) is that a good price? Thanks

[Darcy Warner]

It looks like it was milled for decking? 1" maybe?

[Wade Lippman]

Nothing extraordinary, but if you need it, it is a good price.

What looks like it was milled for decking? I don't see anything.

[lowell holmes]

https://www.google.com/search?q=sapele+lumber&oq=sapele&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39j0l4.6956j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

See this site.

[John Goodin]

Sapele is a wood that can have a funky ribboned grain. This can cause tear out when planing and is why I would want to pick my individual boards. That being said it can quite beautiful when finished without having to go through a complicated process. 4 bucks is a pretty decent price, at least compared to what I have to pay for it.

[Darcy Warner]

Nothing extraordinary, but if you need it, it is a good price.

What looks like it was milled for decking? I don't see anything.

I found the add for it, took a whole 30 seconds.

[Nike Nihiser]

Thanks everybody.

[Nike Nihiser]

I don't think the sapele I'm looking at was milled for decking. It's not 1".
Second question. I have a shelix spiral cutterhead on my planer, will this handle the gnarly grain?

[J.R. Rutter]

I have a shelix spiral cutterhead on my planer, will this handle the gnarly grain?

Yes, at least mine does.

[scott vroom]

Yes, at least mine does.

Same here.

[Jared Sankovich]

Not going to take the time to look for the ad, but what is the width? $4 is the retail price for 4" and under (typically 8/4) sapele from theach local retail yard

[Richard Shaefer]

I use lots of sapele and never had tearout issues, even on straight bladed machines. just pay attention to the grain before you run it through, but you should be doing that with any piece of wood, anyway.
the ribbon grain is spectacular and it really shines if you take the machine marks off the face with a sharp hand plane.

[Jim Becker]

I was able to score some wide 8/4 sapele a few months ago for $5 a board foot from an overstock situation. That was considerably less than I would pay locally. $4 is a good price, IMHO, for 4/4 or 5/4 product in the general market. The ribbon grain does have to be taken into account when setting up for a project as has been noted.

Interestingly, I was at a very large new home construction site yesterday getting specifications for some CNC work I will be doing for them and all the stairway banisters were custom made from sapele as an alternative to "real" mahogany and they look awesome.

[Nike Nihiser]

Ok, I bought all the guy had, about 90 bf for $300. Most is 6/4, a few thicker, average 8" wide. I already ran one piece through my planer, came out great. Thanks for the info guys.

[Patrick Kane]

I think I bought 400-500bf of 8/4 sapele for $3.50ish a bdft awhile ago from my wholesaler. Some of those boards were quarter/rift sawn and most over 8”+ wide. Lot of 10-11” boards which are fantastic to work with. At the yard dedicated to small shops and special stock, sapele is probably $6ish.

With the price of walnut, I will be going to sapele more and more. Very handsome wood. Works beautifully as well. Aside from micro stress fractures, I’ve found it to be like butter under HSS and carbide. Comes off the jointer and planer perfectly, in my experience.

[Darcy Warner]

I mostly use Sapele for exterior painted projects.

I once painted about 20 old growth mahogany screen doors I had made.

[John TenEyck]

That was a great price, as was the deal the OP got. I pay $5.50/BF from a local mill shop, but that's for any thickness up to 8/4 and widths often as wide as 16 - 20". I usually decline those just because they are too heavy to carry, and look for stuff around 12". The first Sapele I used was for an interior door project. It was all ribbon grain and worked like a dream. Then I bought some more for an exterior door. A couple of those boards were the most cantancerous pieces of wood; they would move every time I cut them. Both those boards had a little twist in them when I bought them. Now I only buy dead flat stock with linear grain and have had no further problems. Fortunately, I can pick and chose the boards I want.

You're right, those micro fractures can sometimes be hard to see, until after you've milled the part or, worse yet, already glued it into some assembly. I love how Sapele finishes. The ribbon grain just shimmers.

John

[Leonard King]

Great price. Wish i could have found a deal like that about a month ago. I found that if you find it tearing out, the normal fixes work, run the planer on the lowest feed, turn the board around. sometimes the grain changes direction though. My most recent build with sapele. Sorry for the mess in the back ground
L.T.402464

[John Goodin]

Nike,
300 bucks for 90 bd ft. is a great deal. That’s cheaper than many inferior woods where I live.

[glenn bradley]

I don't think the sapele I'm looking at was milled for decking. It's not 1".
Second question. I have a shelix spiral cutterhead on my planer, will this handle the gnarly grain?

I have a spiral head on my jointer and planer and have no issue with sapele.

402465

Very mahogany-like to work with and finish.

[Nike Nihiser]

Leonard, That's beautiful!