This board has been in our stash for over 30 years and developed a brown patina with some grey, silvery streaks. When I resawed it, the inside is reddish brown. It has an open grain pattern and is less dense than walnut and cherry, perhaps similar to butternut. The edge of the board was very easy to handplane compared to the other woods mentioned. I really appreciate any suggestions. Thank you
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Replies
I'll guess redwood.
Picture of the end grain? Heavy or light? Dents easy or not? For a guess, I will say NOT Ebony.
Thanks all for your quick response to my post and your suggestions. I think that it is a softer hardwood. It dents with fingernail pressure similar to the cherry and walnut I have. I think the responses that it’s mahogany are good bets after searching the wood database and other sources. I’m happy with leaving it at that given the small board I have and intended use. I couldn’t get a good picture of the end grain that I thought would be helpful to pass along.
Thanks again for your speedy and helpful responses.
One of the mahoganies.
+1 for a mahogany.
If it's as light and lacking in density as you say, if it dents easily with a thumbnail, and if it has any fragrance after a quick bit of sanding, my guess would be Spanish cedar. It looks too open-pored to Honduran mahogany. Another option could be sipo mahogany that tends to get that dark color over time, but doesn't have the cigar-box scent or be as soft as Spanish cedar.
Looking at the photo, my first reaction was Philippine Mahogany.
Madura ,luane, Philippine mahogany--- end grain will indicate if it's a hard or soft wood. None of those ,which are all the same thing, are a true mahogany.