Replies

1. 
   cadiddlehopper | Mar 01, 2007 12:15am | #1

   rjones:

   The grain and color are very similar except that the yellows found in the American varieties are absent. The sapwood can be quite light in color. I found that the African is more brittle and prone to chipping. However, I like its appearance, grain, and depth of color very much. It finishes well. I plan to use more of it without reservation.

   Cadiddlehopper

1. 
   rjones69 | Mar 01, 2007 12:45am | #2

   Do you think by edge banding african plywood with genuine mahogany there would a significant difference in color?  Do you think it would blend?

1. 
   cadiddlehopper | Mar 01, 2007 08:11pm | #5

   Aaaah! Now we have an idea what you REALLY want to know!I never use commercial edge banding. Too thin. I have used veneer cut into strips for that purpose. I have found that edgebanding even with the same species is a problem for color and grain matching. To get the best results, I have cut a strip from the plywood edge, split it, and glued it in place then cut away the inner plies down to the veneer. The veneer on plywood nowadays is so thin that you may not get away with that anymore. My ultimate solution has been to use veneer glued down in my home-built press. Usually I attach a solid wood edge to MDF or plywood then apply veneer. I check for color match first.Cadiddlehopper

1. 
   Rich14 | Mar 01, 2007 08:51pm | #6

   cadiddlehopper,

   Sorry to hijak this thread for this message. I tried to post to you via a New Posting, but your name wouldn't come up in the scrolling window, so I'm posting here.

   You have sent me several emails. Your email messages had nothing to do with the threads they were associated with. When I sent replies back to your emails, I got a system error saying my reply was rejected at your end because you were not accepting "messages" from me.  Huh????

   So, now you know.

   Rich

2. 
   rjones69 | Mar 01, 2007 08:54pm | #7

   I agree on the commercial stuff ti doesn't work for me either.

   Now there's an idea!!! I am going with the Core Ply so just maybe there will be enough left over?? Something to look at anyways:)  Awesome idea to say the least thanks again!

2. 
   tom77 | Mar 01, 2007 03:24am | #3

   There was a brief article in another ww magazine (I think it was Wood Magazine) a few years ago about African mahogany.  They stated that there are several species of wood that are all called african mahogany.  My own experience is that there is a lot of variation in what my lumber supplier provides.  One variation is very dense and reddish brown in color.  The second is lighter and much less dense.  Both have the characteristic grain pattern of mahogany.  There was more variation within this category than with Honduran mahogany.

   Having said all of this, if you can get a consistent batch of wood, it works well and produces a beautiful final product.

   Best regards, Tom

1. 
   rjones69 | Mar 01, 2007 05:39am | #4

   goot know thanks guys!!!

3. 
   jeanlou | Mar 05, 2007 11:36pm | #8

   rijones

   There are over 300 species of mahogany world wide, each one with a different character. Beware, because sometimes you do not get the species that you are asking for. Unless you are comfortable shading and otherwise manipulating the colour of a finish, I suggest you avoid mixing species.  JL

4. 
   loucarabasi | Mar 31, 2007 03:30am | #9

   rjones, I work with mahogany all the time. The one thing I notice about african is that it will hair up on you sometimes when you machine it. Thats a real pain in the a$$ when it comes time to sand and finish. I use only Honduras. I bite the bullet and pay extra.

   Hope this helps, Lou

1. 
   Lindau | Mar 31, 2007 04:04pm | #10

   Where on the east coast is a good supplier of Honduran Mahogany? Bill

1. 
   Pondfish | Mar 31, 2007 07:22pm | #11

   You can get Honduran mahogany from Hearne Hardwood in PA.Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005

2. 
   loucarabasi | Apr 01, 2007 11:58am | #12

   You can also get it from Groff & Groff in Quaryville PA

   -Lou

1. 
   mapleman | Apr 01, 2007 09:01pm | #13

   Last time I checked, Hearne Hardwoods had a $200 or $300 minimum order.

   Groff has no minimum, I just ordered an 8' piece of ribbon stripe honduran mahogany from them tuesday. 10" wide, $9.50/bf

   Lee

1. 
   coolbreeze | Apr 16, 2007 03:36pm | #17

   Lee, how was the shipping on a single 8' piece of 10"?

   As you know, getting quality demensional in our area is a problem. I hate to order anything unseen. If I had a place from which to order that everyone has good results from, I'd try.

3. 
   JimV | Apr 02, 2007 04:58pm | #14

   Check with US Mahogany in Aberdeen, NJ. Haven't purchased there, but have see lumber from them.Jim"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold

5. 
   rjones69 | Apr 02, 2007 10:05pm | #15

   I thought I posted a picture of this already butt...  anyways here's a pic of a piece of the workstation I am building out of African.  The sides and shelves are African ply edge banded with solid african

    

    

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/15/2007 10:13 am by rjones69

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 15, 2007 04:58pm | #16

   Mr. Jones, a caution about posting images "in-line" (within a post rather than as an attachment).  The reader has no choice about downloading these, so it's important that they be a very reasonable size.  I have DSL and that image took many seconds to download; a dial-up user could cook dinner while it's downloading, LOL.  It's huge (over 17,000 kb in file size), where for in-line viewing it probably should be down around 20-30, or in a pinch up to 75 kb.

   Tips on downsizing the pic files:  First of all, save it in a compressed form (.jpg rather than a bitmap, which is your picture's format).  Secondly, resize it to no more than 500 pixels wide.  The right-hand frame of the Knots pages is not very wide.  In some cases, cropping is necessary.

   Here is your picture, cropped, resized and "saved as" a .jpg file.  The file size is around 23 kb.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   Edited 4/15/2007 10:01 am by forestgirl

   
1. 
   coolbreeze | Apr 16, 2007 03:43pm | #18

   Thanks, forestgirl. I have dialup and the average speed is 28.4kbps. I have been thinking about satellite, but other options are close and I'm hoping one will be available soon.

   On a number of occasions, you have downsized posters mega file photo's. I have always been appreciative.

   Coolbreeze tips hat to forestgirl!

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 16, 2007 05:35pm | #19

   28.4 ??  Ouch!  FG tips hat to you for being patient enough to keep up with the forum!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)