Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Sun Aug 10, 2025 6:06 am


All times are UTC - 5 hours


Forum rules


Be nice, no cussin and enjoy!




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:44 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:55 pm
Posts: 3820
Location: Taiwan
First name: Tai
Last Name: Fu
City: Taipei
Country: Taiwan
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
I just want some confirmation... I got some Honduran Mahogany from a domestic supplier. The guy calls it Mahogany Swietenia macrophylla, and I just want to make sure it is the same stuff... I got about 7 planks of 1"x4"x40" which is enough for a neck. It was fairly cheap, about a little less than a similarly sized neck blank from LMI minus the shipping. The quality (as you can see) is not all that great but will look good when clear coated. It's fairly light, almost 50% lighter than my Khaya blanks, but the color is also fairly light too.

How can I tell between Khaya and Honduran Mahogany?

Here are some pictures:

Image

Image

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 6:09 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 5:55 am
Posts: 1392
Location: United States
First name: James
Last Name: Bolan
City: Nashville
State: Tennessee
Country: USA
Khaya is a little bit harry looking.Almost like the grain is raised.I`ve never noticed this with Honduran.Hondo also seems tighter grained,and a little darker in color,To me eyes.
James

_________________
James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 8:07 pm 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo

Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:08 pm
Posts: 426
First name: jim
Last Name: mccarthy
City: ojai
State: ca
Zip/Postal Code: 93023
Country: usa
Focus: Build
Tai Fu wrote:

How can I tell between Khaya and Honduran Mahogany?


I've used thousands of board feet of Honduran and half that of African over the years and from
a photo I'd say it's impossible to tell.

I have a project right now where I've mixed the two and some of the pieces could be either.
Generally speaking, though, African is sold rift sawn and the grain is rowey. - but not always.

Also, and again in general, it tends to be not quite as red as Honduran and the grain lines tend
to be shorter and more pronounced.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:38 pm 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo

Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:22 pm
Posts: 204
Location: Taiwan
Swietenia macrophylla, aka big leaf mahogany, can grow quite fast in Taiwan. I'm not suprised if those faster-growing trees yield lighter density/color timbers.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:59 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:17 am
Posts: 1292
First name: John
Last Name: Arnold
City: Newport
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37821
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Professional
Honduras mahogany has storied rays. In other words, the rays are in horizontal lines that produce ripple marks on tangential (flat sawn) surfaces. The rays appear as short dark lines on the flat sawn surfaces. This is best seen with some magnification.
African mahogany (Khaya) has staggered rays that do not produce the ripple marks.
There are other tropical American woods that resemble mahogany (and also have ripple marks) but they are considerably denser than true mahogany.

_________________
John


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 12:26 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:55 pm
Posts: 3820
Location: Taiwan
First name: Tai
Last Name: Fu
City: Taipei
Country: Taiwan
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
CWLiu wrote:
Swietenia macrophylla, aka big leaf mahogany, can grow quite fast in Taiwan. I'm not suprised if those faster-growing trees yield lighter density/color timbers.


But I doubt they were grown in Taiwan... logging has been illegal in Taiwan for many years as far as I know.. there just isn't enough lands to grow forests in Taiwan and almost all forests are protected.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:52 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:55 pm
Posts: 3820
Location: Taiwan
First name: Tai
Last Name: Fu
City: Taipei
Country: Taiwan
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
Now I am even more confused... it's like both species exhibit pretty much the same thing.

But seriously though I am beginning to wonder the viability of those blanks as necks... most of them have light colored stains, I don't know what. A couple has black lines through it that looks like spalting, and all of them have tear outs from the planing operation at the factory... so it could even be Philippine mahogany for all I know. Problem is it's almost impossible to tell the difference without a DNA analysis.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:26 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:17 am
Posts: 1292
First name: John
Last Name: Arnold
City: Newport
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37821
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Professional
Quote:
all of them have tear outs from the planing operation at the factory... so it could even be Philippine mahogany for all I know. Problem is it's almost impossible to tell the difference without a DNA analysis.

PM doesn't smell anything like genuine mahogany. The 'fuzziness' that has been mentioned is characteristic of most PM and African mahogany, and is not normal for Honduran. This fuzzy texture is most noticeable on rough sawn surfaces, or surfaces that are coarsely sanded. Once you know what to look for, it is pretty obvious. No need for any DNA tests.

_________________
John


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 12:06 pm 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo

Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:22 pm
Posts: 204
Location: Taiwan
Tai Fu wrote:
CWLiu wrote:
Swietenia macrophylla, aka big leaf mahogany, can grow quite fast in Taiwan. I'm not suprised if those faster-growing trees yield lighter density/color timbers.


But I doubt they were grown in Taiwan... logging has been illegal in Taiwan for many years as far as I know.. there just isn't enough lands to grow forests in Taiwan and almost all forests are protected.

No I didn't say your neck blanks are from Taiwan, I just said the species grows fast in Taiwan. For a wood vendor, sometimes it's cheaper to import timbers than buying from local sources. They have Taiwanese acacia sets, tho. As for logging, logging trees on private lands are perfectly legal just like harvesting fruits. There's probably almost no land suitable for tree plantation in metropolises, but not elsewhere in Taiwan.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com