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Hello,

I have an opportunity to get a fair amount (probably ~100 board feet) of Honduran Mahogany. Not all of it is quartersawn. It's all about 9 inches wide and 3-4 inches thick. The boards are about 15 foot long.

If not on the quarter, what can I use this for? Can I use it for neck blanks? How about bracing? I'm guessing non-quarter B&S would be a bad idea?

Thanks for any ideas.

Brad

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Straightness of grain is more important than quarteredness for necks. And Honduran mahogany in particular has less difference between the radial and tangential expansion rates than most woods (2.9% and 4.3%), so it should be especially fine. And 4.3% is still pretty low, so I wouldn't worry about using it for backs and sides either.

Quartersawn black walnut is worse than flatsawn Honduran mahogany, at 5.5% radial expansion. And quartersawn ebony is 8.3%

Thanks, Dennis!

In an effort to learn to fish, if you have some links for research, recommended books, etc... I can read that would be great. I'm learning instrument building and woodworking at the same time, so double whammy.

I read the article here which seemed to explain some of what you describe above: http://www.woodworkerssource.com/shop/wmov.html

I'll pick up some of this wood and give it a shot. Might be time for a resaw king blade though. This will be some serious work.

Thanks!
Brad

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There is a lot of potential for a piece of wood like that in any shape or form. If it is a true flat sawn piece then that means that it is vertical grained on the 3-4in width side. 3-4in is big enough for sides and 4 piece backs. BUt even if the grain is off quarter you could use that for many many other things.