African mahogany winning over Cuban mahogany fans. (Wood of the Month).As most fans of mahogany know, the wood considered by many to be the most famous of the fine furniture mahoganies is Swietenia mahagoni Swietenia mahagoni (West Indian Mahogany) is a species of Swietenia, native to southern Florida, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.[1] It is a medium-sized semi-evergreen tree growing to 30–35 m tall. , also known as Cuban mahogany. Cuban mahogany is prized for its characteristics -- it is hard, heavy, and extremely durable. The close-grained wood works well and can be finished beautifully. About the only thing wrong with Cuban mahogany is that you cannot easily purchase it. The export of the species from Cuba was banned in 1946 and supplies are very scarce. Thankfully for lovers of mahogany, there are many alternatives on the market. One popular, affordable choice is African mahogany African mahogany n. 1. a. Any of several African trees of the genus Khaya, having wood similar to that of the New World mahogany. b. . Curtis Zdunski of Randolph Dimension Corp. in Randolph, NY, said his firm had been a producer of South American dimension lumber for the past 25 years, but he is now buying and selling more African mahogany. "With the restrictions on logging in A colloquial term for the process of making the initial record of the names of individuals who have been brought to the police station upon their arrest. The process of logging in is also called booking. Brazil, I have had to find good quality alternatives," he explains. Zdunski likes the availability of the wood and finds it works and looks similar to South American mahogany. Zdunski said at one time, his company used 10,000 to 22,000 feet of South American mahogany every four to six weeks, but they use that much now annually. His customers purchase African mahogany for high-end uses. "Most want glued up blanks, or turning squares. Some use it for carving but all of it is used for quality work." A Worthy Alternative African mahogany offers many pluses. The tree is large; some trees grow from 180 to 200 feet with straight, cylindrical boles clear to 90 feet and diameters of 3 to 6 feet. Trees this size yield valuable cuttings for lumber and veneer. The heartwood heartwood, the central, woody core of a tree, no longer serving for the conduction of water and dissolved minerals; heartwood is usually denser and darker in color than the outer sapwood. is a light pink-brown that darkens when cut to a reddish brown. It has a medium to coarse texture and a straight to interlocked grain, which can yield a striped or roe figure. The wood finishes well and has a lustrous lus·trous adj. 1. Having a sheen or glow. 2. Gleaming with or as if with brilliant light; radiant. See Synonyms at bright. lus quality. Of the three species generally called African mahogany, Khaya anthotheca Khaya anthotheca (also called African Mahogany or White Mahogany) is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, is reportedly the only one suitable for steam bending. African mahogany is used for furniture and cabinetry, paneling, boat building, veneer, office and shop fixtures, interior joinery joinery, craft of assembling exposed woodwork in the interiors of buildings. Where carpentry refers to the rougher, simpler, and primarily structural elements of wood assembling, joinery has to do with difficult surfaces and curvatures, such as those of spiral , staircase banisters, handrails and domestic flooring. In his book Know Your Woods, Albert Constantine described a means of logging sometimes used for African mahogany. "After felling, the logs are frequently squared using adzes in order to avoid transporting unnecessary amounts of useless timber for long distances and to remove sapwood sapwood, relatively thin, youngest, outer part of the woody stem of a tree, the part that conducts water and dissolved materials. In the cross section of a tree, the sapwood is recognizable by its texture and color; it is softer and lighter than the inner heartwood. to prevent the attacks of ambrosia beetles, which cause pinholes." 'Mahogany' Often Misused Khaya ivorensis Khaya ivorensis (also called African Mahogany or Lagos Mahogany) is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria. It is threatened by habitat loss. and related species Khaya anthotheca and Khaya nyasica are the species generally called African mahogany. The woods are often also named for the port of shipment or country of origin, such as Nigerian mahogany, or Ivory Coast Ivory Coast: see Côte d'Ivoire. mahogany. The Encyclopedia of Wood says the term African mahogany "covers all trees of the Khaya species," with the bulk of commercial timber coming from Khaya ivorensis, which occurs in the coastal rain forests of West Africa West Africa A region of western Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea. It was largely controlled by colonial powers until the 20th century. West African adj. & n. from the Ivory Coast to the Cameroons and Gabon. Khaya anthotheca and Khaya nyasica grow in Uganda and Tanzania. Larry Frye, in the Fine Hardwoods Selectorama, writes that "mahogany" is an "often misused name, applied to many woods not from the mahogany family mahogany family Family Meliaceae (order Sapindales), composed of 575 species in 51 genera of trees and (rarely) shrubs native to tropical and subtropical regions. Trees of the genus Swietenia and Entandrophragma, commonly called mahogany, and of the genus Cedrela (especially . The three authentic commercial species of mahogany are Swietenia mahagni, Swietenia macrophylla and Khaya ivorensis." Two related species that are sometimes called African mahogany or heavy African mahogany are Khaya grandifoliola and Khaya senegalensis. These woods have many of the same uses, but generally have a density of 42 to 50 pounds per cubic foot, while the average density of true African mahogany is 32 to 34 pounds per cubic foot. Editor's Note: 86 Wood of the Month articles -- more than 7 years' worth -- are now online, and more are added regularly. Visit the Wood of the Month archive at www.iswonline.com. RELATED ARTICLE: FAMILY NAME Khaya ivorensis and related species Khaya anthotheca and Khaya nyasica of the Family Meliaceae COMMON NAMES Nigerian, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Takoradi, Grand Bassam, Benin, Lagos and Degema mahogany. Kraal kraal In southern Africa, an enclosure or group of houses surrounding an enclosure for livestock, or the social unit that inhabits these structures. The term has been more broadly used to describe the associated way of life. , mangnona, munyama, mbuau. mbawa, mkangazi, Acaiou d'Afrique, dubini, dukuma fufu, ogwango HEIGHT WEIGHT Average height is 180 feet but trees can grow to 200 feet with straight, cylindrical boles clear to 90 feet. Trunk diameters are 3 to 6 feet Average weight is 32 to 34 pounds per cubic foot. PROPERTIES Wood usually dries well and rapidly. Experts recommend a kiln schedule of T6-D4 for 4/4 stock and T3-D3 for 8/4 stock Moderate blunting effect to cutting tools. Tension wood or brittleheart and interlocked grain can cause wooliness. Experts recommend a cutting angle of 15 to 20 degrees to avoid problems such as tearing. Wood has good nailing screwing and gluing properties. Moderately heavy and hard with medium crushing strength, very low stiffness and resistance to shock loads. |
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