This amazing piece of mahogany!!!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I always tell folks that God hides a masterpiece in every tree, and it is my job to find it. This is one of the greatest yet. This was in a bundle of 800 bft of rough sawn mahogany. It’s like Christmas whenever I get one because I never know what will be under that rough surface. Guys, this thing literally looks like it is on fire. I am likely going to make it an accent stripe in a table flanked with maple and maybe some Peruvian Walnit.

I can’t stop looking at it. In “real life” it glows and appears to move like a flame when you change your angle of view.

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[Malcolm Schweizer]

Another shot. Other side.
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[Paul F Franklin]

Unique and beautiful! Will make a gorgeous table.

[Jim Becker]

That's truly a special piece of wood. There are some who would immediately say "yuck" because its' so different, but as you say, our job as craftspeople and creators is to make that wood into what it chooses to be. Nakashima's "Soul of a Tree" book certainly reinforced that for me...

[Prashun Patel]

Nothing will ever hold a candle to the flame in this figure.

[Patrick Kane]

Most of the pack looks pretty good, quite a bit of ribbon in most boards. Agreed, i like digging through a new pack of lumber and seeing what surprises may be in store. I once ordered 1500 feet of 8/4 1com walnut for $3.50/bdft or something around there and they were all 18-22" wide boards that were 11-12' long. Almost no sap, it was one of the craziest orders ive received. I ended up flipping most of the pack for double the price--the boards were too big and too heavy for me to practically handle by myself.

[Kendall Scheier]

Ba-da rim shot! :)

[Kendall Scheier]

Absolutely stunning! Looks like you won the lumber lottery!

[Mel Fulks]

Better take a knife and cut into it. Could just be some conservative faux painting !

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Most of the pack looks pretty good, quite a bit of ribbon in most boards. Agreed, i like digging through a new pack of lumber and seeing what surprises may be in store. I once ordered 1500 feet of 8/4 1com walnut for $3.50/bdft or something around there and they were all 18-22" wide boards that were 11-12' long. Almost no sap, it was one of the craziest orders ive received. I ended up flipping most of the pack for double the price--the boards were too big and too heavy for me to practically handle by myself.

I won’t tell where I got this, not to be stingy, but because I get a good deal and am under a non-disclosure, but I paid $3.60 a board foot for this bundle. There are many more figured, but this one stood out. Most of the boards below it were from the same log- in fact, I think you will see two book-matched in the photo. There are two more stacks of this not shown and much of those stacks are also ribbon stripe. The last bundle made some amazing doors. These will be doors and tables mostly.

[Frederick Skelly]

Dude, that just aint fair. Wow. Just Wow!

[Justin Rapp]

wow - that is amazing. I love seening what is under the rough sawn after jointing and plaining a board.

[Bill McNiel]

Looks like Sapele, Beautiful,

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Yep, that's a good one! Share the finished pics please!

[Andrew Hughes]

It’s very nice but it doesn’t look like Mahogany to me.

[Mark Salomon]

its sapele448956

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Sipo Mahogany

[Warren Lake]

it doesnt all look the same there, that looks like quarter sawn sapele any time ive bought it just not so wild, just thought if we were guessing, is there a prize?

[Andrew Hughes]

I would like to recommend this book for anyone that has a itch to build with Mahogany.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

it doesnt all look the same there, that looks like quarter sawn sapele any time ive bought it just not so wild, just thought if we were guessing, is there a prize?

100% certain this isn’t sapele. It is African Mahogany or Sipo but not Sapele. African and Sipo are frequently sold together as mahogany in my experience. Sapele is not as porous and wild grain as this.

[David Utterback]

The Hidden Life of Trees comes to mind. Thanks for sharing.

[Jim Becker]

100% certain this isn’t sapele. It is African Mahogany or Sipo but not Sapele. African and Sipo are frequently sold together as mahogany in my experience. Sapele is not as porous and wild grain as this.

My understanding is that there are multiple actual species that are sold as "African Mahogany". Someone published an article about this in the past few years, but I cannot remember who/where.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

My understanding is that there are multiple actual species that are sold as "African Mahogany". Someone published an article about this in the past few years, but I cannot remember who/where.

Pretty much, yes, but Sipo is a specific wood that a good supplier will sell as Sipo. It has characteristics that makes it preferable for me: Darker reds, frequent mineral streaks (which I like), wild figure, and fairly hard. It is a pain in the wazoo to work with initially because it has a lot of pint up tension. Just yesterday I was cutting some and the offcut curled as it came off the saw. That said, when you get it stable, it’s solid and makes great doors. I build a lot of doors. I build way too many doors.

I can easily tell Sipo versus African (true African) and Sapele, because I use it a lot, but they are very close to each other. Sapele has a much cleaner grain and is more stable. African has an orange hue. Sipo will be deep reddish-brown in UV and plane to a pinkish color. It’s not always cut and dry, no pun intended, with Sipo and African Mahogany. I have seen some African lately that was much more reddish-brown.

Anyway my guys found the sister to this board, and now I have even more ideas for it.

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[Jay Aubuchon]

I was so taken with this board that I had to show my wife!

[Todd Zucker]

That looks fantastic.

[Bob Jones 5443]

So what’s the plan?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

So what’s the plan?

Today I am headed to the shop to just look at it, and believe it or not, pray about it, and figure out what it wants to be. (*respectful of SMC rules on religious posts, but this is important...) I feel like God hides a masterpiece in every tree, and it is my job to find it, and build something to properly display it. I really do pray to God to enlighten me on what I should make with the wood I was gifted. I originally wanted to make a table, and when I found the second matching piece, I leaned towards a table with center stripe of this wood, and maple surrounding it, and a cabinet with door panels of this wood and frames of maple. I have a bunch of 8/4 maple that I could resaw and use for such a project.

Open to ideas otherwise. I refuse to cut this more than in half, as I think it needs to be shown as one continuous piece. A lot of folks have suggested a jewelry box, but I have plenty of small pieces of local true Cuban mahogany for jewelry boxes. This piece is 9’ long 6/4 planed and needs to be something big.

[Alan Lightstone]

...
Anyway my guys found the sister to this board, and now I have even more ideas for it.

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We're all getting more and more jealous by the minute. Great find.:D

[Bruce King]

I would like to recommend this book for anyone that has a itch to build with Mahogany.
So the cover gives it away, the author thinks the genuine is the only good stuff. African Mahogany that I got years ago and still have some is the most stable, easiest wood I have used. It takes finish perfectly. Can’t imagine what could be wrong with it. I sent in a sample and it’s the most common African Mahogany. Khaya and probably Ivorensis.

[Bruce King]

Here is some good info
The Utile is Sipo.
http://thompsonmahogany.com/african-mahogany-vs-sapele-vs-utile/

http://thompsonmahogany.com/hardwood-lumber/african-mahogany-lumber/

[Bob Jones 5443]

Today I am headed to the shop to just look at it, and believe it or not, pray about it, and figure out what it wants to be. (*respectful of SMC rules on religious posts, but this is important...) I feel like God hides a masterpiece in every tree, and it is my job to find it, and build something to properly display it. I really do pray to God to enlighten me on what I should make with the wood I was gifted. I originally wanted to make a table, and when I found the second matching piece, I leaned towards a table with center stripe of this wood, and maple surrounding it, and a cabinet with door panels of this wood and frames of maple. I have a bunch of 8/4 maple that I could resaw and use for such a project.

Open to ideas otherwise. I refuse to cut this more than in half, as I think it needs to be shown as one continuous piece. A lot of folks have suggested a jewelry box, but I have plenty of small pieces of local true Cuban mahogany for jewelry boxes. This piece is 9’ long 6/4 planed and needs to be something big.

Malcolm,

Nice. I wish you a glorious inspiration.

Bob

[Aiden Pettengill]

Good for you! That wood is absolutely amazing. Wish we could get things like hat up here in Maine. It costs an arm and a leg to get anything other than local pine, maple or red oak because of how far away from all of the exotic and nut tree growing areas. However you do sometimes find really nice curly sugar maple (aka hard) but up here the sap is WAY more important that the wood! As someone with a sugar shack (where you make maple-syrup) a tree can produce more income as a sap tree than as lumber over its lifetime. Also find curly red oak sometimes and once in a million years birds eye maple. Wishing you the best!
Aiden

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Today I found the book match of the first piece. That makes three.

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I have to sleep on this. Might become two or three cabinets.

[Bruce King]

That wood is too busy and rare to use on a cabinet. Something smaller would be best like End tables with drawers. I would also glue up some for a piece of wall art and a small writing table.

[Julie Moriarty]

I always tell folks that God hides a masterpiece in every tree, and it is my job to find it. This is one of the greatest yet. This was in a bundle of 800 bft of rough sawn mahogany. It’s like Christmas whenever I get one because I never know what will be under that rough surface. Guys, this thing literally looks like it is on fire. I am likely going to make it an accent stripe in a table flanked with maple and maybe some Peruvian Walnit.

I can’t stop looking at it. In “real life” it glows and appears to move like a flame when you change your angle of view.

I bought some African mahogany years ago that looked just like that. And they were selling it for the same price as standard AM.

Congrats on the find, Malcolm!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

That wood is too busy and rare to use on a cabinet. Something smaller would be best like End tables with drawers. I would also glue up some for a piece of wall art and a small writing table.

By cabinet, I mean armoir. I believe it needs to be shown in as full length as possible. I did consider just gluing it up as a panel and framing it as a piece of artwork. Maybe sign it “God” at the bottom!

[Mel Fulks]

That should be "write " God . Be careful

[Justin Rapp]

I was so taken with this board that I had to show my wife!

I did the same...