South American Mahogany goes by many names, yet perhaps its most accurate and telling name is Genuine Mahogany. Not to be confused with cheaper imitations, such as Philippine Mahogany, Swietenia macrophylla is what most consider to be the real and true species when referring to “Mahogany.” Now grown extensively on plantations, South American Mahogany lumber is widely used in flooring, fine furniture and cabinet making, interior trim, paneling, fancy veneers, musical instruments, boat building, pattern making, turnery and carving. South American Mahogany’s easy workability, combined with its beauty and phenomenal stability have made this lumber an enduring favorite.
OTHER NAMES:
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South American Mahogany, Genuine Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany, American Mahogany, Brazilian Mahogany |
ORIGIN: |
Brazil, Southern Mexico southward to Colombia, Venezuela, and parts of the upper Amazon and its tributaries in Peru and Bolivia. Plantations have been established within its natural range and elsewhere |
APPEARANCE: |
Heartwood reddish, pinkish, salmon colored, or yellowish when fresh; deepening with age to deep rich red or brown; distinct from the yellowish or whitish sapwood. Luster high and golden; texture rather fine to coarse; grain straight to roey, wavy, or curly, often with an attractive figure; odor and taste not distinctive |
DENSITY: |
Janka scale hardness is 800 for dry material |
WEIGHT: |
30 – 52 lbs. / cu. ft., or approximately 2.5 – 4.3 lbs. per board foot |
DRYING: |
The wood can be air-seasoned and kiln-dried easily without appreciable warping or checking |
WORKABILITY: |
Very easy to work with hand and machine tools, torn and chipped grain is common with figured material. Easy to finish and takes an excellent polish Slices and rotary cuts into fine veneer |
DURABILITY: |
Generally heartwood rates as durable in resistance to a brown-rot and a white-rot fungus. Moderately resistant to dry-wood termites and little resistance attack by marine borers |
PRESERVATION: |
Both heartwood and sapwood are resistant to impregnation with preservatives |
FINISHING: |
Can be finished smoothly with a high natural polish |