African mahogany is a hardwood from the western tropical region of Africa. Colors range from pink to dark brown and are normally very consistent throughout each individual tree. Mahogany is famous for the ribboning found on quartersawn lumber, which is very similar to its close relative, sapele. It has a high degree of dimensional stability and machines, turns, glues and polishes exceptionally. Care must be taken on pieces with visible ribboning as this area will be prone to tear out while working. While most mahogany weighs around 5 pounds a board foot, some examples may way as little as 4, and others at nearly 6 depending on which subspecies and whether the tree was an old slow growth tree. True African mahogany is still legal, but deforestation and the decline of its natural environment may change this in the future.
VARIATIONS AND OPTIONS
4/4 refers to lumber that was cut at 1 inch thickness
15/16ths has been skip planed (a majority of the surfacing work has been done, there may be a few spots that are still rough, but the grain of the particular piece of wood should be visible)
13/16ths is commonly called finish planed. This should be ready for sanding and finish
Ripped 1 Edge is lumber that has been run through a straight-line rip saw. This allows for easy squaring on a table saw.
Sanded refers to a select few lumber options that have been run through a belt sander and are 100% finish ready.
5/4 lumber was sawn at 1.25 inches in thickness.
6/4 lumber was sawn at 1.5 inches in thickness.
8/4 lumber was sawn at 2 inches in thickness.
10/4 lumber was sawn at 2.5 inches in thickness.
12/4 lumber was sawn at 3 inches in thickness.