Mahogany Substitute

[John15]

I'm planning my next project, a Hall Table approx 1000 x 400mm. I have enough 20mm mahogany that I am recycling from old furniture for the top, rails and drawer fronts but don't have any 35 x 35mm for the legs. So I'm wondering if there is a suitable substitute for Mahogany that I could use. Would Sapele or Utile be any good?

John

 

[Trevanion]

Either Sapele or Utile should work but you may need to stain them to match whatever colour of mahogany you might have as they can be quite a bit more red/pink/orange in colour than the "real" mahoganies. I would use a very light coat of a Potassium Permanganate/Water mix to kill the red tones and to darken the timber a bit which should get you closer to the look you're going for.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Another option would be African mahogany, Kaya ivorensis. Very similar, and comes from the same Meliaceae family as the American mahogany. But as Trevanion said, you'd need to probably incorporate some matching for colour. Slainte.

 

[gasman]

Another option is make the legs of something else and then stick 3 or 4mm mahogany on the 4 sides of each leg. Make the outer 2 faces of each leg the last ones to be attached so they are the widest. It sounds awful but I have done it most successfully this year for 3 tables - one in ash, one walnut and one sycamore. You struggle to see the joins and it sure saves on valuable wood
Regards Mark

 

[John15]

Many thanks guys for the helpful suggestions.

John

 

[JimB]

Across here (Australia) true mahogany is available imported from Fiji where it is grown in plantations. I'm surprised that isn't the case for the UK.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Across here (Australia) true mahogany is available imported from Fiji where it is grown in plantations. I'm surprised that isn't the case for the UK.

It is, or was, available here too, although I've not needed to buy it for some time so I'm not sure of the current supply situation. Slainte.

 

[Trevanion]

Across here (Australia) true mahogany is available imported from Fiji where it is grown in plantations. I'm surprised that isn't the case for the UK.

Depends on how much you want to pay. I know quite a lot of timber companies in the UK have stopped importing "true" Mahoganies and it's very rarely available commercially and if you could find it, expect to dig deep into your pockets. The Mahogany-alikes that are readily available in the UK are Sapele, Utile and Brazilian Mahogany, anything else is usually a lot dearer.

Although I don't know what's up with the UK Timber Market at the moment, We've got what's basically the most coarse-grained, softed and most brittle treated softwood (Accoya) you could possibly have fetching a hell of a lot more money than European Oak at the moment because of really low supply and really high demand. It really shows what a bit of clever marketing can do.

 

[JimB]

This is where my son picks it up for me.
https://www.mathewstimber.com.au/timber-species
The Fijian mahogany is quite pale but darkens beautifully when aged or (in my case) treated with potassium bichromate to speed up the process. Pot.bichromate is poison by the way.

 

[Trevanion]

The Fijian mahogany is quite pale but darkens beautifully when aged or (in my case) treated with potassium bichromate to speed up the process. Pot.bichromate is poison by the way.

I've found Potassium Dichromate to be a bit intense for some timbers and can make them a little too dark and more red than when they started, the problem could be controlled with diluting the solution with a bit more water but I personally prefer the colour that Potassium Permanganate creates (It's a very subtle, more brown difference) with the plus side that it isn't as toxic or as expensive as the Dichromate! Used to be able to pick up Potassium Permanganate cheap off the local vets as they had an abundance of it for dog tail docking but I don't think they do much of that anymore.

 

[JimB]

Always laugh when I think of Potassium permanganate. My father had some foot trouble in the 1950s and he dipped them in a tub of PP. He didn't really need to wear socks for ages. :wink:

 

[JimB]

I needed to make a new foot for a mahogany chest of drawers and used the Fijian plantation mahogany. photos show before and after pot.bichromate.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Don't know where you are but Yandles in Somerset stock true mahogany. I bought a board earlier in the year to make my bass guitar, bit pricey though.

 

[Benchwayze]

https://www.sykestimber.co.uk/timber/utile.html

This will give you some idea of availability and properties of Utile.
I used this species making repro display cabinets for 'dealers', at the 'antique' fairs that were abundant in the 80's. Easy to work and takes a nice finish.

HTH

John

 

[John15]

Thanks again everyone for your help. I'm visiting Tyler Hardwoods tomorrow to look at some African Mahogany, taking a piece of my 20mm to compare.

John

 

[kamarawes]

Depends on how much you want to pay. I know quite a lot of timber companies in the UK have stopped importing "true" Mahoganies and it's very rarely available commercially and if you could find it, expect to dig deep into your pockets. The Mahogany-alikes that are readily available in the UK are Sapele, Utile and Brazilian Mahogany, anything else is usually a lot dearer.

Although I don't know what's up with the UK Timber Market at the moment, We've got what's basically the most coarse-grained, softed and most brittle treated softwood (Accoya) you could possibly have fetching a hell of a lot more money than European Oak at the moment because of really low supply and really high demand. It really shows what a bit of clever marketing can do.

Fijian Mahogany (Swietenia Macrophylla / Big Leaf Mahogany) is now being imported into the UK and is very competitively priced. It is a beautiful durable wood.