Cuban mahogany.

[renderer01]

Hello all,
Have just managed to identify a piece of wood thats been lying around for most of my life its Cuban mahogany and dimensions are aprox 11ft 2inch x10 inch x 1 3/4inch.
I know its a protected species and rightly so, its not a piece of wood to cut up and turn on a lathe as far as im concerned, the provenance of the wood is no problem its been here most of my life.
I need to know to who or to what purpose or both this wood could best be used. I have some idea of its value but no idea of a suitable market place for it.
Suggestions, ideas please and thankyou.

Rend.

 

[whiskywill]

If you can resaw it to about 4mm thick, there are many luthiers who would be very interested. Acoustic guitar backs are usually sold as 2 pieces about 560 long x 220 wide and the sides as 2 pieces 800 long x 115 wide, all 4mm thick.

Of course, I would get a discount for suggesting it.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

If you are sure it is Mahogany Swietenia macrophylla then it will be worth a few quid. I would say two places to sell would be ' The Antiques Trade Gazette' and or the members of BAFRA ( the British Antique Restorers Association), if you send admin an email they usually forward it on to all the members.

 

[joethedrummer]

Hi Renderer,,,
For keeping a piece of wood like that for a while may I suggest that a piece off the end for you to turn into a bowl or something would be a reminder of it when the rest it is gone,,
I recently "sidelined" a piece of ash that was in a woodpile at a house we rented for a holiday and on our return made a bowl out of it,, When I look at I think of "the holiday",, Perhaps something from your timber would say "that piece of mahogany"
just a thought,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,joe,,,,,,

 

[Kalimna]

Hi,
As already mentiond, it would make excellent (probably) material for those building guitars (and other acoustic stringed instruments).
I would be very interested in purchasing some from you (if you do decide to go that route), and am also in Alloa, not far from Morrisons in fact.....

Cheers.
Adam

 

[custard]

Timberline had some old 1908 stocks and I bought a few pieces from them, plus they have a close substitute for Cuban mahogony from plantation grown stocks which I've tried as well.

http://www.exotichardwoods.co.uk/Woods_ ... hogany.asp

Once seen never mistaken, Cuban mahogany turns a very dark reddy brown after a few years exposure to the air, and it's much, much heavier than varieties like Honduras Mahogany and harder too, your thumbnail won't leave much of an impression on Cuban. However, it's been unobtainable in this country in large boards like you have for over fifty years, are you sure it really is Cuban? I've seen lots of mahogany described as Cuban when it just isn't. Having said that, Brazilian mahogany went on the CITES list a year or two ago and so old stocks in decent lengths is very desirable in its own right.

 

[renderer01]

Hello Custard, Yes we got the endgrain photos from this website and its pretty identical, we cleaned up some of the endgrain and got a good look with magnification and a friend with many years experience in exotic woods is convinced its Cuban at the end of the day im not the expert he is. Only answer I can give is im about as sure as it possible to be.
The board has years worth of ingrained dust and debri covering it and unless its plained up its a dull grey colour with very dark streaks. Once plained the wood is a dark ruddy brown and quite fine grained deep very dark shine once oiled.
Its extremly heavy this board I can lift but not comfortably there is after all this time no rot or fungal attack just dirt.
Dont know what else to tell you.
Regards
Rend.

 

[custard]

Sounds positive, hope the new owner appreciates it! A board that size would be enough for a complete small item of furniture like a side table or wall cabinet, and it would be a real joy to make in a timber like that.

 

[marcus]

Jealous! I found some smaller scraps of the same stuff when I moved into my workshop, and made a couple of small boxes from them. If I had your piece I would saw it into some lovely 2mm veneers, and some trim and then sit looking at them for a few years while deciding what to make with them....

 

[MIGNAL]

Firstly you would need to get a more scientific and certain id. It's already been mentioned but the folk that pay relatively high prices are the Luthiers. A lot will depend on the type of cut etc. Rough sawn veneers for acoustic Guitars usually come in at 4.5 mm's, bookmatched and sized for Guitar Backs/Sides. Not much call for Classical Guitars but Steel string would be much better.

 

[renderer01]

Thanks a lot all for the input, still not quite sure what to do but have more options now.
Thanks all.
Rend.