| Official Luthiers Forum! http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/ |
|
| is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=31588 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | nkwak [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
My first build has had a few hitches and I cracked (but resealed) the Honduran mahogany sides and bent two left sides. I didn't realize this before gluing on the blocks so I'm tempted to start over. My local Rockler has a set of khaya mahogany back & sides that are priced pretty low (and I have a 20% off coupon) so I'm tempted to buy them and do the sides over. My current back is fine though so I'd like to still use it. I'm worried that it won't look right with the khaya sides. Am I just being anal about this? Or should I just try and fix my mistake on my Honduran sides? If so, how would I even do that? |
|
| Author: | Corky Long [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
"African mahogany" can be a term used for several different species of tonewood. I think all of them are harder than Honduran, and the appearance (to me) is quite different. I'd try to use those Honduran sides, see what you can do to rebend the extra left side. If it's straight grained honduran, shouldn't be a problem rebending it. We've all done that before. As to "how", I'd say do it the same way you bent them in the first place. I'd suggest you use a hot bending pipe to gently bend it back to flat, if you have a Fox bender. Once flat, then use the bender. Otherwise. continue with the pipe. I'd use plenty of moisture, since the set is likely to have been dried out pretty well in the first bend. Plan "B" for me would be to get an orphan set of honduran sides that match the appearance of your back. If there aren't any on the classifieds here, you can try RC Tonewoods. Bob Cephalu is great to work with. African will certainly work, but I think you'll always see a difference in color and grain. |
|
| Author: | Pat Redmiles [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
short answer - no. long answer - noooooo...  seriously, though, African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) is coarser grained than Honduran, and has a more pronounced ribbon figure (interlocked grain, which can present some chipout when planing). Colorwise, it's a good match, though. It tends to be somewhat lighter in shade and I've had to use a toning stain to match it to true Honduran (for furniture work - I don't like to use stains in luthierie). Never tried to bend it, so I'm no help there. |
|
| Author: | Laurent Brondel [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:07 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
A pair of Honduran MH sides will be pretty cheap, I am sure if your call any tonewood supplier, they'll find a matching pair for you. However, if you do not mind a slight difference in appearance, bring your back to Rockler and try to find the best match. African MH can vary quite a bit in grain, density and appearance. Avoid a board that has runout for bending. |
|
| Author: | CharlieT [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
Neil - I have a set of Honduran mahogany sides I could send you for th cost of shipping. Shoot me a PM if interested. |
|
| Author: | Sondre [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
Just wanted to say that the Khaya I have is much darker and denser than the Honduran that I have seen. Looks more like Sapele. Also, the grain is more interlocked, like Pat said. I guess there is much variation though Thanks, Sondre |
|
| Author: | nkwak [ Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:55 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: is African mahogany similar to Honduran mahogany? |
Thanks, guys. I'm nixing the purchase of the khaya then. FWIW it looked a lot like Honduran and didn't appear to have any ribboning (which I've really noticed in sapele) but I'm not an expert by a long shot. As for my existing sides, I'm not ready to write them off just yet. I'll start a new topic on that though. |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 5 hours |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|