Lane Acclaim Dining Table - Input Please

[John TenEyck]

I like Honduras mahogany the other African mahogany is hard and heavy but not nearly as stable.
Dont be fooled by African mah costing less. There is a unique aspect of Honduras mah look closely at the pores you should see little while specks. It will be a little lighter and softer.
John probably already knows what I’m sharing. These word can be for anyone passing by.
Good Luck

Thanks Andrew. I've used African mahogany. It looks OK but not great, IMO. Funny thing is the stuff I used was really light, and easy to dent, not heavy like you described. I know that's relative and maybe it is heavier than Honduran. I don't know if I've ever actually used any. I tend to measure everything in that category against Sapele (not a mahogany, I know), which IS heavy.

Cost is always important, but I'd rather use something nice even if it exceeds my budget. I guessed $16/bf for mahogany, so I hope I'm OK for which ever one I buy. I only need about 25 bf.

John

[Jim Becker]

Thanks Jim, but there's no need to go that far unless maybe I was looking for something exceptional. I have a local millwork shop that has a wide variety of wood species, most anything, including a lot of wide stuff. I'm more interested in what particular species of mahogany people might recommend for this table before I go there and annoy them for an hour pulling down several pallets to only buy a couple of three boards. I've done that several times in the past, so I guess my reputation precedes me, but it's a New Year and time to try to improve.

John

Honduras as Andrew mentioned is very nice and a pleasure to use. The various "African Mahogany" species are not really mahogany. That said, a very viable substitute from that continent, if you don't mind the beautiful ribbon figure, is Sapele which has the same general color as true mahogany from South America and works in a similar way, albeit has a bit of interlocked grain which makes carving more challenging. Sapele is often a bit less expensive than Honduras mahogany if it's a fit.

[Andrew Hughes]

At the lumber I visit sometimes a board or two African and Honduras get mixed. I’m sure you know your species as god as any. I hadn’t thought of Sapele until jim mentions it. I like it sapele unfortunately it’s ribbon grain is so very unique. Just not always a fan.
Would you like to see a piece built from Honduras mah or some call Genuine mah? I think you will so here it is fish tank stand I made.
Honduras mahogany with a lacquer finish.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, the ribbon figure in Sapele is an important consideration. It works in some contexts but would not be a good look in others because it can be pretty darn striking.

[Jamie Buxton]

The other “African Mahogany” is Khaya. It generally has less-pronounced ribbon figure than Sapele.

To my eye, both Sapele and Khaya are darker than Honduras Mahogany. They are both respectable hardwoods, and I use a fair amount of Khaya. Just be cautious about the color if your customer has Honduras in mind.

[Mel Fulks]

I worked in a couple of shops that tried to use African wood stuff for mahogany. It moved like a sleeping cat, but faster !

[John TenEyck]

That's beautiful, Andrew.

John

[John TenEyck]

Honduras as Andrew mentioned is very nice and a pleasure to use. The various "African Mahogany" species are not really mahogany. That said, a very viable substitute from that continent, if you don't mind the beautiful ribbon figure, is Sapele which has the same general color as true mahogany from South America and works in a similar way, albeit has a bit of interlocked grain which makes carving more challenging. Sapele is often a bit less expensive than Honduras mahogany if it's a fit.

I've used a lot of Sapele. I don't think the ribbon grain would look good on this table. Maybe plain sawn, but I think some sort of mahogany would be better. There is a huge price difference though. I can get wide 8/4 Sapele for around $6/bf.

John

[Tom Bender]

Jim that's a beautiful guitar. What is the finish?

[Jim Becker]

Jim that's a beautiful guitar. What is the finish?

Thanks! Filled with ZPoxy and then many coats of Target Coatings EM7000HB, leveled and sanded out to 12000 with Micromesh (wet) and then buffed. Like true mahogany, sapele benefits from grain filling and the ZPoxy takes care of that nicely while really popping the "warmth".

[John TenEyck]

While on vacation I developed drawings for the table. I was happy to find that I could bring photos into SketchUp and scale them to the known dimensions of the table. That allowed me to get a very good idea of the dimensions for the other parts.







The original table has plain leaves and no apron extension on the leaves, but looks poor to me when open unless you put a tablecloth over it.




I contacted my customer and asked for her opinion, and she immediately wanted the molded edges and apron extensions on the leaves, even though storage of the leaves will be more difficult. So that's what I'll build.

Jamie, I looked at the table extensions sold by LeeValley. None of the ones they sell will fit the table, so I contacted Poettker USA. I sent them drawings and heard back overnight (impressive) from the president of the company (must be a small company), who said LV sells only a small fraction of what they make. He said I need a custom built unit, which for the low end version only costs around $150 plus shipping, and a high-end version is around $500. He didn't send me the specs to compare but I'm sure I'll want the top end ones. I had budgeted $250, so this is a big hit to the budget. I'll have to go back to my customer to see if she'll meet me at least half way. I'm sure we'll find a solution.

I have my material list together and will be going to my wood supplier this weekend. I hope I find some really nice genuine mahogany. If not, I found 3 beautiful 5/4 curly cherry boards in my wood shed that should have just enough in them to do the table, so that's my backup plan.

John