Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey all,

I was perusing the local woodcraft store... They had a pile of "African Mahogany" -- holy cow, that is some variable stuff...

Some of the boards were light yellow, some orange, some pink, some dark brown... Weight wise, some were heavy, hard, and dense and others were soft and light..

How many species do they lump into "African Mahogany?"
I know of Khaya, Sipo, and sometimes Sapelle.. and knowing Lumber... probably anything brownish with a grain that remotely resembles Mahogany...

Anyway, I picked up a pair of "matching" heavy, dense Brown flavored boards -- 1 will be "Sides" and the other "Backs".... sliced them open and they have a distinct Pink cast to them. Gonna try this stuff out on a J45 build.

Thanks

John

For back and sides most tonewood sellers will sell khaya as "African mahogany". Sapele is an African mahogany also but is usually just labeled as "Sapele" and not as Af. mahogany. Sipo is also considered an African mahogany but usually not sold as back and sides - LMI is the first seller that I have seen selling it.

Of course none of these are really mahogany but I can't tell the difference. I have 2 sets of Honduran and 2 sets of Khaya back and sides with beeswing figure. I forgot to mark these before stickering and now can't tell the difference. I guess it doesn't matter - I read somewhere that some older Gibsons used African mahogany for back and sides with Honduran for necks. I guess if it works - it works.

EDIT: I just read on the Allied website and under African mahogany it says, "In most cases, the African we offer is Sapele, although from time to time it may be Khaya, or even Sipo." I guess it pays to ask the dealer what flavor he currently has in stock.

_________________
John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Bob had some crazy figured Sipo a little while back. I'm guessing theses some more in the zoot cave somewhere,

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meliaceae

Mahogany family
Melia azedarach in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Juss.
Genera

See text.

The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants) in the order Sapindales,

They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarpous, apparently bisexual (but actually mostly cryptically unisexual) flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters. Most species are evergreen, but some are deciduous, either in the dry season or in winter.

The family includes about 50 genera and 550 species, with a pantropical distribution; one genus (Toona) extends north into temperate China and south into southeast Australia, and another (Melia) nearly as far north.

The Wood Explorer Database lists 60 species in the Family Meliaceae


http://65.23.157.7/cgi-bin/woodsearch.cgi?global=Meliaceae&prior=rrr&x=8&y=6

60 matching species

Acajou (Khaya spp. )
Acajou blanc (Cedrela guianensis )
Acajou rouge (Cedrela huberi )
Acaraya (Cabralea oblongifoliola )
Adjidja (Trichilia emetica )
Adusoge (Cipadessa fruticosa )
African crabwood (Carapa procera )
African crabwood (Carapa grandiflora )
African mahogany (Khaya anthotheca )
African mahogany (Khaya grandifoliola )
African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis )
African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis )
African mahogany (Khaya nyassica )
African walnut (Lovoa klaineana )
African walnut (Lovoa trichiliodes )
Aglaia (Aglaia gigantea )
Aglaia (Aglaia odoratissima )
Akhaterwa (Heynea trijuga )
Alu (Pseudocedrela kotschyi )
Amari (Amoora wallichii )
American muskwood (Guarea excelsa )
American muskwood (Guarea grandifolia )
American muskwood (Guarea trichilioides )
Amoora (Amoora cucullata )
Amoora (Aphanamixis rohituka )
Australian mahogany (Dysoxylum fraseranum )
Avodire (Turraeanthus africanus )
Bagalunga (Melia composita )
Barre (Trichilia havanensis )
Brazilian cedar (Cedrela fissilis )
Broomstick (Trichilia hirta )
Cangerana (Cabralea cangerana )
Cape ash (Ekebergia capensis )
Cautivo (Ampelocera hottlei )
Central American cedar (Cedrela odorata )
Chickrassy (Chukrasia tabularis )
Crabwood (Carapa guianensis )
Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni )
Doekoe (Lansium domesticum )
East African Walnut (Lovoa swynnertonii )
Ekebergia (Ekebergia rueppelliana )
Gedu nohor (Entandrophragma angolense )
Guarea (Guarea cedrata )
Guarea (Guarea thompsonii )
Gyobo (Walsura villosa )
Hill toon (Cedrela serrata )
Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla )
Indian crabwood (Carapa molluccensis )
Indian white cedar (Dysoxylum malabaricum )
Kalampu (Sandoricum indicum )
Malasantol (Sandoricum vidalii )
Maroso (Dysoxylum euphlebium )
Neem (Melia indica )
Omu (Entandrophragma candollei )
Persian lilac (Melia azedarach )
Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum )
Sasauira (Dysoxylum pilosum )
Sasauira (Dysoxylum richii )
Toon (Cedrela toona )
Utile (Sipo, Entandrophragma utile )

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

LOL...

Sounds like the answer is "Many"... I had a feeling about that.

Thanks

John