Alternative to Mahogany

[Chronosoft]

Wonder if anyone can help. I am building a fire surround and I wanted to know if anyone knows of a cheaper alternative to a dark wood such as mahogany. Quite a few antiques in the living room which need to broadly blend with it.

I also suppose i could use a figured lighter wood and stain or dye it down a little.

Any suggestions for me would be greatly recieved.

David

 

[wizer]

Yes. Iroko. Or Sapele. Or Utile.

 

[lurker]

......and the best source of all these timbers is the skip of your local double glazing /conservatory installer.

I have a garage full :lol: :lol:

 

[wizer]

Don't we all ? :roll:

 

[OPJ]

No, Tom... You have a workshop and house full of wood!!

I agree with the above; sapele would probably give you the closest match.

 

[Woodmagnet]

No, Tom... You have a workshop and house full of wood!! and TOOLS

I agree with the above; sapele would probably give you the closest match.

Fixed it for you Olly.

 

[Woody Alan]

Sapele...but it is going to have a much more pinkish hue than the items to match with. The best stain to give the best results in my experience has been vandyke walnut crystal water stain. Experiment with the strength of mix to get the desired depth of colour. This method still excels in my view as it does not obscure the grain and is not "picked up" by whatever finishing method you choose. Always dampen surface lighlty and allow to dry to raise grain and rub back before using the stain though.

Alan

 

[Chronosoft]

Sapele it is i think. What is the conservatory skip reference, im a bit clueless i am afraid. What would you recommend finishing the surround with? Thanks for the the dye tip btw, its all wonderful help.

Best regards to you all

David

 

[wizer]

Sapele is (or rather was) the most common substitute for Mahog and was largely used for windows and doors. Which is why you often see them discarded in skips and people like myself who are wood hoarders (or should that be wood whores?) collect it and hide it in our workshops because 'it'll come in handy'.

 

[joesoap]

Sapele ain't no substitute for mahogany it's the real genuwine deal . Used in 1st class jobs @ shopfitting , barfitting , banks etc . Way before the veneered mdf era . Cheers !

 

[wizer]

Sorry, you're right, I meant it's a derivative of Mahog

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi all,

Sapele is the wood to go for but I would say Tom was right first time as the 2 woods are only distant cousins to each other!!! Genuine Mahoganys can no longer be imported without CITIES certifacation but Sapele is very easy to obtain.... and not all that expensive either 8) 8)

Cheers,

Richard

 

[Ironballs]

How about a pic of the wood it has to match? The fire surround at my parents house is a rich, deep, reddy brown colour and it's stained oak. My suggestion would defintely be for a stained oak, the grain is likely to be better than sapele as well for figure

 

[Chronosoft]

Sapele bought, 1st light pass through the planer and its sat in stick in my living room. Leave it to dry a few week and see what I have got. Going to try some different finishing oils and stains over the next few weeks and try and get ahead of myself. I probably will re-start this thread on the projects topic.