Replies

1. 
   SgianDubh | Apr 30, 2004 03:20am | #1

   1. Yes-- it has a good reputation as resistant to decay as outdoor furniture, exterior architectural doors/joiney, boat trim, etc.. Finish might be anything from nothing through a pure oil finish to an exterior yacht varnish. The first is the lowest maintenance, and the last requires regular upkeep but offers the greatest longevity if done properly.

   2. They probably mean South American mahogany, i.e., Swietienia macrophylla rather than the African mahoganies, i.e., one of the Khaya group, or sapele, or utile. All four belong to the Meliaceae family, so technically they are all mahogany of one sort or another.

   2+. They are almost certainly excluding Philippine 'mahogany'-- aka, lauan, meranti, seraya, etc., which are often somewhat similar in appearance but come from one of the scores of Shoreas'  that botanically are classified in the Dipterocarpaceae family. Slainte.

   RJFurniture

1. 
   jonsherryl | Apr 30, 2004 03:33am | #3

   Sgian! it looks like we got caught in the door jamb answering this one...but it's amazing how closely we agree.

   Good to have you in the conversation. Is today some sort of Brit holiday where the pubs are all closed? :O)

1. 
   SgianDubh | Apr 30, 2004 03:56am | #4

   Almost a mutual plagiarism thing there, Jon, ha, ha.

   I've been unable to email you recently-- they bounce back at me. In particular I was asked recently by a Brit publisher called Quatrro, Quarto or something like that to do a bit of spiel on 100 hundred woods, plus photographs of polished and bare samples.

   Due to time constraints and pressure of work I turned the job down, but I tried to put them in touch with you-- I reckoned a lame old fart like yourself with time on your hands and all the info already on your hard drive might be able spit most of the verbiage out in time. I was trying to email you to let you know I'd given them your name to give you some advance warning.

   Did they contact you? The money they were offering was a bit lame too, but I'd have haggled them up some on that front.

   Anyway, I'd like to get your functioning email address back into my address book so that we can exchange mild insults from time to time again. So if you'd click on the green RJFurniture thing below and go to the Contact page to pick up my disguised email address, remove the fake bit and drop me a note I'd appreciate it.

   The pubs are all closed, but that's incidental. It's only 2 am here, and it'll be time for bed in 1/2 an hour or so, ha, ha. Slainte.RJFurniture

1. 
   jonsherryl | Apr 30, 2004 04:37am | #5

   >>"Due to time constraints and pressure of work I turned the job down, but I tried to put them in touch with you-- I reckoned a lame old fart like yourself with time on your hands and all the info already on your hard drive might be able spit most of the verbiage out in time. I was trying to email you to let you know I'd given them your name to give you some advance warning. Did they?"<<

   Nope, I haven't heard a word from anybody over there (you or them). Figured there must be something in the water on that side of the Atlantic that immediately turned you into a Liberal.

   I'll follow your instructions and try to get an e-mail off to you. As you know, my computer skills are almost non existant. I suspect the problem is that we have changed servers now that my better half is working out of the house and needs an on-line hook up. Talk about crimping a fella's life style...I'd be happy to buy her a new wardrobe, a new car and pay her mileage, if she'd just go into work again. :O)

   I'll be trying to reach you as soon as I get back to your post, my skirted little friend.

2. 
   jonsherryl | Apr 30, 2004 03:27am | #2

   Dave, genuine mahogany is outstanding for exterior projects. Just make sure you use stainless steel fasteners. As for finishes, it's compatible with virtually all of them...but film type finishes will require a little more laborous maintenance.

   As for nomenclature, The term "genuine mahogany" is generally accepted to refer to members of the American genus; Swietenia, and primarily now the mainland species; Swietenia macrophylla, AKA Bigleaf mahogany. The African mahoganies in the genera: Khaya and Entandrophragma, (AKA "African" mahogany and sapele) are also "true" mahoganies in that they belong to the mahogany family; Meliaceae.

   Unfortunately, the common name "mahogany" conjures up the image of quality...in that virtually all of the true mahoganies (both American and African) are exceptionally nice cabinetwoods...so, the trade has tended to "borrow" the term mahogany to describe any wood that has even the slightest similarity in appearance. Many of these pseudo-mahoganies, mostly but not exclusively, belong to the lauan family, Dipterocarpaceae (several genera, but mostly Shorea). These are primarily Southeast Asian timbers. Also, most of them are coarser textured, lack true mahogany's excellent decay resistance and are far less stable timbers. Some of the "dark red merantis" in this lauan group do have respectable decay resistance, but they're not in a class with the true mahoganies in any other respect.

1. 
   Kevin | May 01, 2004 11:47pm | #7

   Don't forget Lyptus and some of the other similiar looking South and Central American look-alikes that are being marketed as Mahogany substitutes.

   A while back my employer was bidding on some corporate banking HQ somewhere in Texas. The prospective client wanted Mahogany paneling and fixtures. We found out in looking into it that for a variety of reasons the South American Mahogany is readily available in veneers but not in solid stock. And the African Mahogany (Khaya) is readily available in solid stock but not in veneer. So, we began looking at look-alike alternatives. What we found commercially available at reasonable prices was mostly Lyptus and a Southern Mexican product called "Royal Mahogany" which I don't believe is a true Mahogany. Turned out the bank wanted a Rolls Royce for the price of a used Yugo. So, we dropped out of the bidding process long ago. It was interesting to look at the commercially available options, though.

   The Independent Voter.com

   "Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud" - Sophocles.

   Edited 5/1/2004 4:50 pm ET by Kevin

1. 
   jonsherryl | May 02, 2004 02:07am | #8

   Kevin, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I still haven't worked with lyptus. Now that I'm retired, I don't have the trade contacts I used to...And with over 3000 board feet of who-knows-what around here to use up before the curtain falls, I haven't been in a hardwood outlet in over two years. But from what I've read, Weyerhauser deserves a round of applauds for developing this hybrid. It sounds like a real forestry / conservation breakthrough.

   As for mahogany substitutes, there are literally hundreds of them. I once tried to research this topic and finally gave up...but there are about 70 species in the lauan genus (Shorea) alone. And there are at least a half dozen other genera in other botanical families involved in this common name quagmire. Most of them are woods with better (more definitive) common names; like banak, balsamo, koa, primavera, ramon, carbonero, etc...but the trade just won't let an opportunity go by when it comes to trying to associate an also-ran with genuine mahogany.

1. 
   TimLoupe | May 02, 2004 03:09am | #9

   whoa, good answers !

2. 
   AlbionWood | May 03, 2004 12:24am | #11

   Is "Nyatoh" one of those lauan species?

   I recently got several solid interior doors, advertised as "mahogany," that are stamped "nyatoh" on the ends.  They are certainly a beautiful mahogany-like red color.  If I have the patience I'll try the multi-coat Watco finish, but more likely we'll shellac them or maybe wipe on some gel varnish."Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  A. Einstein

   http://www.albionworks.net

1. 
   jonsherryl | May 03, 2004 02:20am | #12

   No Albion, nyatoh is a Southeast Asian timber cut from several species in the genus; Palaquium, which belongs to the Sapotaceae family. This family is found throughout the tropics, but is perhaps better known for some of its New World species that produce the chicle used in making chewing gum and also some very tasty tropical fruits, like sapodilla, or "dillies".

   Nyatoh is a pinkish or reddish brown wood, typically much finer textured than the lauans, and it has better shaping characteristics. It's a nice wood, but if any of these doors are entry (meaning, they will be exposed to an exterior environment) be sure to give them a good protective finish. Nyatoh has poor decay resistance.

   Edited 5/2/2004 7:22 pm ET by Jon Arno

2. 
   LD | May 02, 2004 06:14pm | #10

   Thanks for the education.  This is a lot cheaper than school.

3. 
   MarkRoderick | Apr 30, 2004 04:42pm | #6

   I recently built a porch swing out of mahogany. The original choice was teak but the wood alone would have cost $1,000!!  The mahogany was a bargain by comparison at about $200.

   After doing some research, I finished it with a non-film finish that supposedly blocks about 99.9% of the ultra-violet radiation. The name of it slips my mind, but it was pretty expensive and readily available at any good paint store.