When I was young my family lived in Indonesia. My parents had furniture made while we lived there and it was made out of mahogany, with no secondary woods used. So, drawer sides, runners, rails, drawer bottoms, backs - all mahogany. I remember going to the shop when it was being made. Indonesian carving tools consist of broken glass bottles with cloth wrapped around to serve as handles. One day I hope to do work to that standard, but I think I’ll cheat and use actual chisels and gouges to try and match it.
My mom had some sticky drawers in a piece, so as part of my Christmas visit I brought a plane and some scrapers to tune it up. With just a little bit of work the drawers are moving smoothly. The mahogany is fantastic to work with. It planes and scrapes beautifully.
I’ll stick to using mostly American woods, but if I ever find myself with a stock of mahogany, I think it would be a real treat to make something out of it.
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