Hey all, my little girl finally let me know what kind of bed she wants me to make her. She decided on a sleigh bed and really liked the look of Honduras Mahogany (HM)…so, what she wants is what she gets>>> Anyway, this morning we went over to a couple of yards that I’ve been using for years and neither have much in the way of HM, but I saw this wood called Utilie (sp) and it is a dead ringer for HM. So, what I want to know is, what are the properties of this wood? Is the wood stable when milling it? Does it finish well and will it end up looking like HM when all is said and done? My usual wood of choice is cherry, but I’m looking forward do using something different.
Thanks
Ralph
Replies
I would ask the yard what it really is and if they plead ignorance, post good pictures including end grain on this forum. There are some awfully knowledgeable folks here that may be able to identify it.
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-- P.J. O'Rourke
The two places I go to are related (owned by three brothers) and one gets it's wood from the other. It's funny though, even their prices are different...go figure. At one location they have "African Mahogany" and "Honduran Mohogany", the AF is very...varied in color and the HM is in small supply. At the other location they had the I've done an extensive Google search on it and it's called Entandrophragma utile...I think, but the guys working there didn't know much about it and said they just got it in. It looks very much like the HM I remember with just the slightest hint of grain in some of it. Nice red, brown color with interlocking grain, my little girl loved it and I guess I'm just looking for some affirmation before plunking down the bucks and wondering if I'll regret working with an unstable wood that's color fads with time.Ralph
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Characteristics_of_Utile_Wood.html
Utile and sapele are African relatives of the true mahoganies (which are New World species). The properties are similar; the grain of the African species is usually somewhat coarser, and is more likely to be interlocked ("ribbon" grained). Personally, I prefer the color of sapele to that of utile.
-Steve
Always try the Forest Produects Lab website first. They have a lot of really good information on just about any wood.
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Wood Technical Fact Sheet
Entandrophragma utile
Utile
Family: Meliaceae
Other Common Names: Efuodwe (Ghana), Sipo (ivory Coast), Okeong (Nigeria), Assie (Cameroon), Kosi-Kosi (Gabon), Mufumbi (Uganda).
Distribution: Principally from West and Central Africa. Occurs in moist deciduous high forests, dry subtypes, and transitional formations. Rather abundant in the Ivory Coast.
The Tree: Grows to a height of 150 to 200 ft; bole is straight, cylindrical, and clear to 100 ft, occasionally fluted; diameter above buttresses may reach 8 ft.
The Wood:
General Characteristics: Heartwood fairly uniform red- or purple brown; well demarcated from the light brown sapwood. Texture medium; grain interlocked and rather irregular, has a less uniform stripe figure than sapele; has a faint cedarlike scent. Timber is corrosive to metals.
Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) about 0.53; air-dry density 41 pcf.
Mechanical Properties: (2-cm standard)
Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength
(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)
Green (9) 11,400 1,390 5,540
12% 15,000 1,560 8,760
12% (24) 13,700 1,610 7,900
Janka side hardness 1,080 lb for green material and 1,260 lb for dry. Amsler toughness 144 in.-lb for dry material (2-cm specimen).
Drying and Shrinkage: Air-dries at a slow to moderate rate with a slight to marked tendency to end-check and warp. Kiln-dries satisfactorily, usually with only slight degrade; schedule T2-D4 is suggested for 4/4 stock and T2-D3 for 8/4. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 4.6%; tangential 6.4%; volumetric 11.0%. Movement in service is rated as medium.
Working Properties: Works fairly easily with hand and machine tools, interlocked grain may cause tearing in planing and shaping, finishes well, glues and nails easily.
Durability: Heartwood is moderately resistant to attack by decay fungi and termites. Sapwood is liable to attack by powder-post beetle.
Preservation: Heartwood is extremely resistant to treatment; sapwood is easy to treat.
Uses: Furniture and cabinetwork, joinery, decorative veneers and plywood, boat construction.
Go over to Breaktime & look at this link for a project someone made out of African Utilie
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=107096.4
so, what she wants is what she gets>>> Little Girls are very SPECIAL.. I have many in my family.. All grown up now.. But have to grow up to the real world..
I think you should take her to your local Hardwood supplier.. Maybe call first and say what you want to do...Get some of that fake money... Give her a handfuls and tell her 'here is what you have to spend'.. Lets go pick out some wood! Give her a GREAT big Hug so she is relaxed... Tell her I'll give you Real money for the wood! If it is within the money I gave you!
OK.. so I did that with my oldest, youngest, Grandbaby.. I spent 200 US more than I wanted two!
Thanks for the suggestion...but my "little" girl is 11 years old and I'm not sure you could pass off fake money on her, maybe a few years ago.We did go to the lumber yards together, and that's were she saw the Honduras Mahogany and the Utile. I had never seen Utile before and that's why I came to where the experts hang. I tried my hardest to talk her into cherry (I have a couple of hundred bf), but she would have none of it, she really liked the Utile!!! Now, normally I would just make her an offer she couldn't refuse, but she is turning herself around on many things and I wanted to treat her, and truthfully, thought I love the look of Cherry and still want all of my things made of it, I'm looking forward to using another wood. Many years ago I make a upper tool box out of HM for a friend of my and it is really one of the nicest pieces I've ever made.Thanks!Ralph
but she would have none of it, she really liked the Utile!!! Now, normally I would just make her an offer she couldn't refuse, but she is turning herself around on many things
LOL..
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