To me it is the best match of all I have seen, and the popularity in maritime installations could have brought it to the beach…. It looks like a Meliaceae family. Bought this impossibly cheap guitar built in China for a beginner friend and I am amazed by the tone and light weight of both body and neck. Would need to see a much clearer shot, preferably of the endgrain to tell much more.
Have you considered possibly a Shorea species, sometimes known as meranti? They come in all sorts of colors and weights. Great article. This one surprised me once I took all the layers of grime and varnish off. Any help would be appreciated. I took an endgrain shot of the bottom of … Read more ». It does look like a type of mahogany.
To me it most looks like African mahogany in Khaya genus rather than Honduran mahogany in Swietenia genus, based on lack of marginal parenchyma bands in endgrain. You can help support the site by buying one of these resources, designed and published by The Wood Database. The specific links on this site are affiliate links as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and help support the site at no extra cost to you.
See my page on donating wood samples for more info. Mahogany Mixups: the Lowdown. From the top-notch mahogany of yesterday, one would expect to encounter the following characteristics of the wood: Excellent workability. Mahogany is known for its cooperative nature and easy sanding and machining, with a Goldilocks-esque balance of density thats just hard enough but not too hard.
Excellent stability. Flat pieces will remain flat. Joints and glue-ups will remain intact. In the midst of seasonal changes in humidity, mahogany exhibits minimal shrinkage and swelling.
Decent rot resistance. Perhaps not to the same level as Teak or other exotic tropical timbers, but certainly respectable. Beautiful grain. Mahogany can sometimes be rather plain and almost utilitarian, but on other pieces, it ascends to the heights of sophistication.
What antique bombe chest would be complete without exquisite crotch mahogany veneer drawer fronts? Large, clear lumber. Mahogany trees get huge.
Cuban Mahogany Swietenia mahogani. Honduran Mahogany Swietenia macrophylla. Honduran Mahogany endgrain 10x. Flatsawn Honduran Mahogany x2. African Mahogany Khaya senegalensis.
African Mahogany endgrain 10x. The Periphery: Meliaceae Along the outermost fringes of what most consider to be called mahogany, there are a handful of other genera and species that are technically related to mahogany: much like the African Mahogany species in the Khaya genus, this somewhat eclectic group of hardwoods are all members of the Meliaceae family.
Sapele Entandrophragma cylindricum Similar to mahogany: Very large trees yield clear quality lumber that resembles genuine mahogany in both appearance and mechanical properties. Sapele endgrain 10x. Bosse Guarea cedrata. Bosse Guarea spp. Spanish Cedar Cedrela odorata Similar to mahogany: Grain can be somewhat similar to genuine mahogany, though color is much paler. Andiroba Carapa spp. Avodire Turraeanthus africanus Similar to mahogany: Sometimes called White Mahogany, Avodire fits the description well.
African Walnut Lovoa trichilioides Similar to mahogany: Despite its common name, African Walnut is not closely related to the true walnuts in the Juglans genus.
Outliers: Not in the Family Despite any superficial resemblance to genuine mahogany, there are still a number of wood species that are completely unrelated to any of the mahoganies in the Meliaceae family.
Light Red Meranti Shorea spp. Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus ledifolius. Are you an aspiring wood nerd? Notify of. I give permission to use my email address to send notifications about new comments and replies you can unsubscribe at any time. Inline Feedbacks. Reply to Meredith. Jose luis vitale. Reply to Jose luis vitale.
Possibly mahogany? Reply to Eric. Bert Kelly. Reply to Bert Kelly. David Bellan Almenar. Hello can yuo help me whith this wood.
Robert Danforth. Kurt Smith. Last edited 4 months ago by Kurt Smith. Jack mayer. I just received a stack of mahogany or mahogany lookalike. Any idea what it might actually be.
Reply to Jack mayer. Jacob Wrench. Reply to Jacob Wrench. Reply to Alex. Reply to Marvin. I happen to know a few things about Mahogany. If you really need to know, figure out how to call me. I'm sorry that was pretentious. Just go here. I will add, that you might want to take a look at Liptus as a potential alternative species.
I know that Per saw this stuff at the same industrial show I did, too. Did you ever buy and try, Per? I made my first project last year using African Mahogany. I noticed no difference in the way it machined or hand worked versus Honduras or Philippine.
I think I paid over twice that. Mahogany is a wood that is very important to me. I have used both African Khaya ivorensis and Honduras Swietenia macrophylla. The African mahogany seems to exhibit the interlocked grain even in rift sawn samples; in Honduras it seems to only appear in quartersawn pieces.
The color is often a giveaway, as well. Workability is definitely a factor, too. Although I've had samples of South American swietenia that was soft, had fuzzy grain, and was difficult to machine without significant tearout of the grain. But swietenia species are almost always more stabile, dimensionally, than the Khaya species.
Thanks again for all of the info. Humans will swim in the sea even though there are many corpses in it. They will not swim in a pool with a corpse in it. ICBM Frets: But not inherently between two closely related species of timber.
I'm sure different pieces of timber of the same species will vary but I think the pickups have a bigger part to play. Geez, one thread suggests strats are indistinguishable from Les Pauls, now this!
July edited July tFB Trader. Funkfingers Frets: I don't believe in Zimmerman. I don't believe in Beatles. I just believe that, if the sum of a guitar's parts sounds and feels good, I should play the bejeezus out of it. Danielsguitars Frets: July tFB Trader.
Even for acoustic guitars, I can't really tell a difference between ones I own that have African Khaya Mahogany or Honduras Species Mahogany back and sides, and that applies to many others ones I have played as well. Even for acoustic soundboards that are made from different species of Mahogany, I can't tell the difference. So for an electric guitar, I think it's even less important. But I don't believe that the type of Mahogany doesn't make a difference.
African or Khaya tends to have more pronounced striping and can be a little coarser in texture. In other words, it can tear out a bit easier than Honduran, which is why Honduran is usually suggested as the ideal back and side woods for newbie acoustic builders. Both tend to make good acoustic guitars for recording.
For electrics, I don't sweat the difference much beyond the appearance. Personally I like Khaya's look a little better, but that's just me. Newer plantations can't compare to older ones, wood is harvested from lower on the tree, and is heavier.
Has a beautiful reddish tone to it that's unmistakable. Older hunduras mahogany is much lighter, and tonally complex. Pretty much the best of both worlds. Figured and red, lighter, and older.
The only problem is it's practically extinct, due to overharvesting, not to mention the embargo on cuban exports. Usually lighter in color, figuring is less. Sometimes almost white, but not insanely heavy. It's usually used in asian imports for its price and proximity. Tonally, it's not easy to compare to well aged vintage guitars.
I believe I have Phillipine Mahogany in my Agile guitars I do indeed like the tone though and would love to hear a guitar sound better. But I am extremely tone deaf apparently when it comes to wood If someone offered to give me one I'd surely say "Yes Please sir. Both are nice woods.
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