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MAHOGANY, PHILIPPINE
Philippine mahogany is different from other mahoganies because it ISN'T a mahogany at all but any one of a large number of species that are lumped together and sold as Philippine mahogany even though they are not mahogany. First, it is generally much more grainy than mahogany and second, it does not take on a patina the way mahoganies do. This wood is widely used in cheap, thin, plywood, and on the outside of cheap hollow core doors, both generally under the common name "luan".
SEE TEXT ON PAGES FOR HONDURAN MAHOGANY OR CUBAN MAHOGANY for further discussion
my samples:
plank and end grain
plank and end grain
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
slab and end grain --- this was sent to me for identification and I'm sure it's something from the light red meranti group, which (along with ALL of the meranti's) I'm going to merge into this page at some point
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
face grain of two small planks
edge grain of the two planks directly above; note the strong ray flakes in one and the absence in the other. This is only partially because only one is quartersawn. I had another piece similar to the 2nd one and even when quartersawn it had barely visible ray flakes. There are MANY species lumped together as luan (Philippine mahogany) and these might be planks from two different species, or it could be that there is great variation between trees.
both sides of a small plank
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
face and face grain closeup of a small plank --- this particular species of Philippine mahogany (and I don't know what that species is) is unusually tight-grained. There is just a faint hint of too much orange tint in the pice but basically the color is accurately shown.
side grain of the piece directly above
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- the closeup shows a pink tint that is not present in the wood
plywood. Although these are two separate pieces, each has as its other side the type of luan shown in the other pic. That is, these two pieces are almost identical, but each has on one side the type of luan shown in the first pic and each has on its other side the type of luan shown in the 2nd pic.
sections off of two different large plywood sheets sold as "luan" --- based on color and grain I'd say both of these are something from the red meranti group although I don't know that they are the same species. The grain isn't really clear on either until you go to the enlargement.
a section of yet another "luan" plywood sheet --- I have no idea what species this one is.
two quartersawn planks shot at a lumber yard
closeups of two flat cut planks found at a lumber yard
web pics
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planks
veneer
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veneer sheet and closeup --- this was specifically listed as luan which is the common name for a variety of this wood that is very commonly sold in the USA.
faces of hollow-core closet doors surfaced in thin philippine mahogany, and treated most likely with polyurethane but if not that then some similar finish. Years ago this type of cheap plywood was readily available in most any hardware store, usually marketed as "luan", but I don't see it as much today.