Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Feb 28, 2006 02:26pm | #1

   Mahogany will darken over time, but not nearly as quickly as cherry ( I have no experience with Padouk) I have attached a photo of the drawer front of a mahogany desk I made in 1999, showing the color change with the pull removed. This piece was finished with oil and shellac. The desk is in a room where there is a fair amount of sunlight, especially in the evening.

   Rob Millard

    

   
1. 
   woodwhacker | Feb 28, 2006 09:07pm | #2

   Rob,

   Thanks!  Really appreciate you taking the time to take and post the photo.  One picture really IS worth a thousand words.  It confirms my suspicions that Mahogany is going to end up darker than I want.  I'd like to end up with a finished piece about the medium brown color of unfinished Mahogany, so just oiling it makes it a little darker than I want, then adding the color change with age and  it looks like I may need to find another wood.

   Thanks again,

   Lance

1. 
   RMillard | Feb 28, 2006 09:29pm | #3

   Lance,

   You are welcome.

   When I read your reply, the first thing that came to my mind, was to use Primavera. It is sometimes called white mahogany, since it has nearly the same grain characteristics as "real" mahogany but is much lighter. I think its lighter color would mean it doesn't have the tanin content of mahogany, and would be more color stable over time.

   This is all conjecture on my part, so you should do more investigating.

   Rob Millard

   Edited 2/28/2006 6:49 pm ET by RMillard

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 02, 2006 05:08am | #4

   And, just think, for lots of people getting honduran mahogany dark enough, and interesting enough, to sit along side 18th. and early 19th. c. cuban mahogany. 

   Not a criticism in any way Lance, since what is important is achieving the look that the maker (or his/her customer) wants. 

2. 
   cadiddlehopper | Mar 11, 2006 07:30am | #5

   We must not assume that the wood covered by the hardware has not changed color, too. I recently retrieved a rather large cherry scrap which had been protected from light for about a year. When I satshed it, the color was medium reddish brown, as expected. After a year in the dark, it was almost as pale as poplar. Surprised me!Cadiddlehopper

1. 
   RMillard | Mar 11, 2006 02:57pm | #6

   That is a circumstance I wouldn't have expected either, but there is no question that the mahogany in the photo I posted darkened more with the exposure to light, than under the hardware.

   Rob Millard

    

1. 
   cadiddlehopper | Mar 11, 2006 04:22pm | #7

   I'm not sure what my point is. Maybe it is that we can never be absolutely certain of the results when oiling unstained wood. I have several pieces which are pretty grungy looking because they darkened so strongly that grain all but disappeared and there is no depth to it. One padauk piece is almost black even though it was brilliant red when machined. Mixing the same species from different flitches can cause surprises also.Cadiddlehopper