NOTE: the physical organization of the pictures on this site does NOT yet reflect the information given directly below. This text is just the first part of a total reorganization of the mahogany pages on this site.
the mahoganies (the family Meliaceae, the mahogany family)
Swietenia macrophylla: This is the mahogany that grows throughout mainland Central and South America. The most common of the many common names for this species is Honduras/Honduran mahogany, but it is also called in many cases by its country of origin, such as Nicaraguan, Mexican, etc. Swietenia macrophylla tends to be slightly more orange than Swietenai mahagoni, but the color and density are affected by the specific conditions in the area of growth, so there are no absolutes.
Swietenia mahagoni: This is the mahogany that grows in Florida, Cuba, and the Caribbean area in general. The most common of the common names of this wood is Cuban mahogany. Swietenia mahagoni tends to be a darker reddish brown than Swietenia macrophylla, but the color and density are affected by the specific conditions in the area of growth, so there are no absolutes.
Khaya spp.: The Khaya species sold as African mahogany ARE part of the mahogany family, but are separate from the Swietenia species of the Americas. The Khaya species tend to be lighter in color, generally more of a salmon/pink in tint, that the Swietenia species, but the color and density are affected by the specific conditions in the area of growth, so there are no absolutes
Confusing mahogany terms, "genuine" and "true"
The term "genuine mahogany" is used in two conflicting ways: first, and by far the most common usage, is to distinguishe Swietenia from Khaya, which to me is a reasonable distinction even if not quite accurate in its implication that Kyaya is not a genuine mahogany, but second, it is sometimes used to specifically designate Swietenia macrophylla. Why this is, I do not know. The good news is that this second usage is rare.
The term "true mahogany" is also used in two conflicting ways, with the first, and by far the most common, usage being the resonable distinction that a "true" mahogany is one that belongs to the mahogany family (this includes both Swietenia and Khaya species), but the second is to distinguish Swietenia (as "true") from Khaya, which to my mind is not helpful terminology in its implication that Khaya is not a true mahogany, but I don't get to make the rules, I just do my best to figure them out and report them. As with "genuine", the second, less helpful, usage is rare.
There are a number of woods that have mahogany in their names but that generally have nothing to do with mahogany. A few of the more widely known such names are:
(1) "Philippine mahogany": This is a blanket name used for dozens of species (primarily Shoria species such as meranti), none of which are related to the mahogany family
(2) "santos mahogany": This is Myroxylong balsamum of the family Leguminosae (the legume family), totally unrelated to mahogany.
(3) "royal mahogany": This is is a flooring industry marketing term for a wood that has absolutely nothing to do with mahogany (this kind of dishonesty is typical of the flooring industry, which also calls curupay by the grandiose name "Patagonian rosewood" even though it is totally unrelated to rosewood)
my samples --- colors are accurate
sample plank and end grain; although given the common name Honduras mahogany, this sample was listed with the botanical name Sweetenia occidentalis, a name that I do not find in reference works even when I correct the genus name to Swietenia.
both sides of a sample plank of Honduran mahogany (listed as bigleaf mahogany); the actual wood color is just a shade more chocolate than is shown here.
end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above
two different shots of end grain closeup of the piece directly above. The first has way too many sanding scratches but when I fine-sanded it along with a bunch of other sample planks that had too many scratches on the end grain edges, this particular one came out looking so radically different that I left in the first pic. Although the 2nd pic shows far fewer sanding scratches, the very thin late growth rings have become oddly difuse and that is NOT representative of the wood. So the grain pattern is better represented in the first pic but the color is better in the 2nd.
two faces of a piece of turning stock
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
two faces of a piece of curly Honduran mahogany turning stock
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
three bowl blanks and a closeup of the middle one
plank
slab --- in the enlargements you can clearly see a few sapwood wormholes, a fairly common occurance for all mahogany, in my experience.
turning sticks with a light curl that can be better seen in the enlargements
turning stick with a light curl
both sides of a plank
plank and closeup
misc planks photographed at a lumber yard
sticks --- the two very lightest pieces are sapwood and the piece directly above the ruler on the left has some sapwood with blue stain, as does the one two pieces above that. The darker piece (lower left) is probably from a different tree
plank with some nice curl that doesn't show up very well here (it's a little more clear in the enlargements)
gorgeous 2"-thick slab with excellent grain pattern and very rich color, shown accurately here
planks --- very light color is correct, and the sapwood (lower portion of lower plank) is also lighter than usual
planks --- I think these are probably all sapwood
planks --- the one directly above the ruler has a light curl that can be seen better in the enlargement.
a couple of cheap sticks with some sapwood that has what is most likely blue stain.
both sides of a crotch plank that I bought to cut up and use in my bowls
two sections and a closeup of a long curly veneer sheet contributed to the site by Daniel Duelen, whom I thank for this and other contributions. This is a really beautiful sheet.
curly veneer sheet and closeup. This was also contributed by Daniel Duelen. Thanks Dan.
a normal-thickness veneer. This is really pretty stuff, with a beautiful honey-gold color that is accurately shown here. There is some worm-hole damage in many of the sheets that these samples came from and you can see a few of the smaller holes here.
two ebay pics of the same top sheet, posted by the vendor who sold me the lot from which the sheets directly above came. Note the difference in color between his two pics. Neither of his pics shows the true color, but mine does.
flat cut veneer
thick veneer (about 1/12th inch) that is slightly red
thick veneer (about 1/12th inch) that is kind of a cross between the honey-gold of the first piece above and the red of the one directly above. The color on this is as accurate as I can make it but somehow the pic just doesn't do justice to the wood. The enlargement seems to bring out the beauty of the wood a little better.
crotch veneer; obviously not right at the crotch but near it --- definitely compression wood and very rich looking.
crotch veneer; the piece in the first pic has hardly any crotch figure but does have the dense rich look and swirly/non-uniform grain direction that is common to crotch areas.
web pics
planks with believable color
plank listed as caoba --- I'm dubious about the red color
planks with unlikely color --- the purple is particularly silly
planks --- two probably too reddish orange and one probably too yellow
bowl blank --- the 2nd one was listed as figured and does seem to have a very light mottle
curly planks, both of which have color at the extreme ends of what is likley (but possible)
fiddleback planks --- these were quite expensive and I have not seen much Honduras mahogany with this kind of really strong curl/fiddleback, so I assume it's pretty rare.
curly plank with color that is possible, but is probably too light
crotch
pen blanks that have been oiled and waxed
veneer
quartersawn veneer
quilted veneer
fiddleback veneer
blistered veneer
crotch veneer
guitar kits --- that middle one is really stunning; take a look at the enlargement --- it's unusually pale, but what a spectacular grain pattern ! The one on the left is a faint version of the same thing.
bowls
bowl and two closeups --- I shot this in a craft store that sold mostly wooden bowls. There is a hair too much red in the pics, especially the first two; the last shot is very accurate in color.
Two views of a little turning I did specifically to show many aspects of the grain. This turning was done 9 years ago and I just now got around to taking the pics (I TOLD you I was a world class procrastinator. Or wait ... did I put off telling you that?) Anyway, I cannot remember exactly what the piece looked like 9 years ago (and also I should mention that it has a polyurethane finish) but I am very sure that it was considerably lighter than it is now even though it spend most of those 9 years in a closed box and even aside from that has had little exposure to indirect sunlight and none to direct sunlight. The pics here have just a hint too much red in them. Although this piece was not cut from any of the samples at the top of the page, I'm pretty confident that the original color was almost exactly the same as the pieces labled "three bowl blanks and a closeup of the middle one" and also I remember that when it was lighter, the grain was easier to see. This darkening is a reasonably good example of the excellent age-patina that mahogany tends to take on --- it's even better (acutally MUCH better) if an oil finish is used and re-applied at regular intervals, with buffing.
Planks from the BogusColorVendor, with their usual unrealistic colors (although the exaggeration here is WAY less than is often the case with that vendor's pics)
both sides of a curly plank --- note the rather radical contrast in colors --- I seriously doubt that the wood has that kind of color shift from one side to the other.
%204a%20s25%20q60%20plh.jpg)
%204b%20s25%20q60%20plh.jpg)
%204%20end%20grain%20s25%20q60%20plh.jpg)
%204%20end%20grain%20closeup%20s25%20q60%20plh.jpg)
%201%20s50%20q60%20web.jpg)
%20web.jpg){kind=spacer}
