Oiling mahogany - problem now explained

[Fred Voorhees]

Was talking woodworking on another non-woodworking forum and someone asked me about a table that he had made from mahogany. He said that he had used an oil to finish it, but the oil simply stayed on the surface of the wood and did not soak into it. I have never worked with mahogany and couldn't provide him with an answer. Does anyone have a possible reason why the oil didn't soak into the wood?

[Dave Anderson NH]

I have oiled mahogany many times to give a little more color to the wood before applying a finish. I've not had any problems with BLO cut 25% with naptha. Most of the mahogany available nowadays tends toward a very light salmon pink color and not the deeper reddish brown of centuries past. Is it possible your friend applied it without dilution and at a low temp so that it just puddled onthe surface? Maybe he applied too much and/or the wood was burnished enough that the pores were closed? Pretty hard to diagnose from afar.

[Jim Becker]

...or maybe that mahogany wasn't bare wood and had some kind of sealer on it... ;) I cannot imagine any other reason for it not soaking in.

[John Timberlake]

Have used BLO on mahogany many times and never had any problems with it soaking in. More often, it soaks in so much that it is dry when I finish rubbing it on. Must have been sealed in some way.

[Fred Voorhees]

Well, here is his post on the situation and you decipher it. It sounds to me like he was applying to bare wood. I had suggested that he may have burnished it. Not sure though. I told him no further than 220 for fear of the burnishing.

His post:

Okay. I made a small table, sort of a tea table in a queen anne style out of mahogany. The mahogany was all cut from a single piece of wood about a 2x6x4' long. Anyway, after I got it cut into the right pieces, shaped, assembled, tooled and sanded, I applied an oil to bring out the color of the wood.

The problem was the wood didn't take the oil. It stayed on the surface. If I sand it now, the oil just gums up the sandpaper.

Was the wood still too green to take the oil? Should I have assembled it and let it cure for a few months?

Also, the top is a thin sheet of a really cool mahogany grain of veneer. I applied it with contact cement. But, there are a few bubbles in it now. Is there a way to get them out?

[Jim Becker]

So...what kind of oil and how many years did he have it sitting on his shelf? The "gumminess" is what makes me ask this...

[Fred Voorhees]

So...what kind of oil and how many years did he have it sitting on his shelf? The "gumminess" is what makes me ask this...
Yeah, Jim, that was my thought also. I was just over there on that forum and I'm not sure that he is on right now. Maybe I'll PM him and ask.

[David Klug]

I used Formbys Tung Oil finish on Honduras Mahogany and it just came out beautifful.

DK

[Tom Jones III]

Maybe he used linseed oil or similar and not boiled linseed oil? I've used straight BLO on mahog. a couple of times and it worked great. Also, how green was the wood that he has a question about it?

[Tyler Howell]

Maybe he used linseed oil or similar and not boiled linseed oil? I've used straight BLO on mahog. a couple of times and it worked great. Also, how green was the wood that he has a question about it?
Sounds like LO and not BLO.

[Fred Voorhees]

OK, you guys were willing to offer some advice to me to pass along to this fellow from another forum that is not related to woodworking. He sent me a PM a few days ago and unfortunately, I just didn't notice the thing. I picked it up today and here his side of the story. Can anyone get any more detailed about what might have gone wrong for him?

Okay, here's the long story. I found an old mahogany tea table on my wife's parents back porch. It had been painted white, but was in terrible shape. So, I brought it home and removed the paint, sanded down the mahogany and then replaced the top and put new veneer and inlay. Then I applied Danish Oil (no color) that was brand new. The old wood took the oil great. It went from very light almost white to a dark dark reddish brown. Really pretty. Then some wipe on varnish and it was done.

But, then I bought a new piece of mahogany, cut it up and made another table identical to the old one. When I applied the same exact Danish Oil to it, it just turned red. I tried to sand for another application and it just gummed up the paper. It looked like crap. So, I have sanded most of it off and am just letting the wood cure out.

For some reason, this wood did not soak up any of the oil.


So that is what he has sent me. I told him I would try to get him some concrete suggestions on what might have gone wrong and what might remedy the problem. So, I'm throwing it out to the experts.