is mahogany suitable as a bench worktop?

[mickthetree]

Hi all

I've been going through various builds of workbench top recently. MDF and an old pine bench I was given.

Both have got nearly flat but I just remembered the mahogany doors I got from a school recently.

Theres enough there to make a 2ft wide top which is what I'm after for my shed.

But would it be suitable? or is it just going to get easily dented and scratched?

Beech is pretty hard stuff and the obvious choice.

I have a sheet of mdf I could stick on top for rough work I suppose.

Are these old "mahogany" doors going to be suitable.? The base will be softwood, but from very old seasoned wood.

your opinions / suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[PAC1]

Sacrilege!! To even think it! Sell the mahogany and buy all the beech or mdf you need!!!!!!


The technical answer is it is to soft.

 

[mickthetree]

Hey Pac1

Thanks for taking a look.

Thats what I wanted to know really, if it would be too soft. Dont want to use it if I'm going to have to replace it again in a year or two. Guess it depends how I look after it.

This stuff was pulled out of a skip due to go to landfill so I have no quarms about using it in this manner. Cant imagine its actually worth anything anyway. Dont suppose its fine high grade furniture making mahog, maybe just a similar type wood.

Although if someone wants to buy it then I'm all ears ;-)

De-nailed it yesterday and scraped off all the flaking varnish and it looks alright. Some big variation in colour, but good enough I think.

 

[big soft moose]

as wizer said on the other thread if thats really mahoghany then its flipping valuable - you could easily buy a bench from the proceeds. (If i'd seen the other thread at the time i'd have been straight over with our pick up truck to empty the skip)

that said my suspicion is that its sappelle but still too good to use in a bench (unless you are planning a Waka style build )

 

[mickthetree]

Hey Bigsoftmoose

Would you be able to identify it from these photos?

Before planing

Taken a very fine shaving

If it is Mahogany then I might look to sell it and buy some beech instead.

Would it really be too soft to use as a top? If its going to make a top tht will last a lifetime I would still consider using it.

Unless its worth loads of course ;-)


Shame I couldnt get the rest but my little car was fit to bursting and The skip left the next day.

 

[matthewwh]

Mahogany or sapele are both harder, heavier and more stable than beech, but it's very rare to find doors made from solid timber.

If they are internal doors with a core and solid lipping they probably will be too wimpy for the job, unless you put some half inch plus sheet material on both sides and around the edge. Fire doors work well, big solid and very heavy, but some may contain asbestos so you shouldn't try to cut them down to size and dog holes are a no-no.

If they are solid mahogany then I would join the others in suggesting that you use them for making furniture.

For bench tops you ideally want something pale coloured to keep your working area light. Beech is traditional although it is has a high water content when growing and is therefore quite prone to movement. Maple or oak would make better (but more expensive) options.

When I first got my beech workbench it was laquered, so anywhere that the finish came off would become a pronounced bump or hollow depending on the season. Without thinking I planed the bumps off, making the exposed area bigger and the problem worse. Eventually I figured it out and planed the lacquer off the whole surface, so it now has no finish at all but the top moves uniformly so it stays flat.

If you are going to apply a finish, tung oil or linseed oil will work well, but remember to do the underside as well or it will develop a curve from front to back.

 

[mickthetree]

Thanks Matthew, thats what I wanted to know about the timber. I've added a couple of shots as you might see.

The doors were solid wood frames with glass in the centre. Not completely solid all over. Even though it was laminated glass they decided they were too much of a risk and binned them.

The frame wood is 42mm x 90mm x 2000mm and I have 8 pieces of those and also some panels 220mm x 590mm which were the top and bottom rails.

Going to draw up some more ideas for the bench but they sound like an ideal material.

 

[woodbloke]

If they are solid mahogany then I would join the others in suggesting that you use them for making furniture.

Many years ago I acquired some changing benches from the gym at my school that had 25mm thick brown timber of some sort for the seats...they're now in the utility room with all sorts of assorted crap on them (and have been for the last 30 odd years) It's difficult to say exactly what sort of mahogany they are (I have six, each about 2m long) but I reckon they'd plane up quite well, I've often been tempted to replace them with something cheaper and use the timber for a bit of furniture - Rob

 

[matthewwh]

Schools generally are a great source of timber as they use excellent quality stuff for everything in order to make it as 'little darling' proof as possible.

Mick, your identification was correct, it is mahogany and will either make a beautiful piece of furniture or an absolutely jaw dropping benchtop.

You jammy bu&&ers!!!

 

[big soft moose]

Hey Bigsoftmoose

Would you be able to identify it from these photos?

Before planing

Taken a very fine shaving

If it is Mahogany then I might look to sell it and buy some beech instead.

Would it really be too soft to use as a top? If its going to make a top tht will last a lifetime I would still consider using it.

Unless its worth loads of course ;-)


Shame I couldnt get the rest but my little car was fit to bursting and The skip left the next day.

you're asking the wrong bloke really , I thought they were sapelle , but i bow to matthews greater knowledge, if hes says they are true mahog then thats good enough for me

I really think its too good for bench top - keep it to make furniture or sell it would be my advice - normally i'd be interested but after the dogs colision with a landrover on monday (shes okay - just a cut leg thank god) my bank account is not up to the job

 

[wizer]

Go back to your idea of using man made boards. Don't waste valuable hardwood on something your going to abuse daily!! Bonkers. :?

 

[PAC1]

Mathew said "Mahogany or sapele are both harder, heavier and more stable than beech". In my book mahogany has an sg of .54 to .64 with medium crushing strength and European beech has an sg of .72 with a high crushing strength. Thus beech is heavier and harder than mahogany.

 

[matthewwh]

I stand corrected, thank you.

 

[mickthetree]

thank you all for your input.

I'll give it some further consideration as I dont have any other use for it as yet. Not sure I'd really get that much for it on the big auction site.

Maybe just something to stash away then.

Back to the drawing board.

Again. ;-)

 

[big soft moose]

if you decide to sell it, sell it here (or on other woodie sites) someone will buy it

 

[big soft moose]

The frame wood is 42mm x 90mm x 2000mm and I have 8 pieces of those and also some panels 220mm x 590mm which were the top and bottom rails.
.

Ive been poking about looking for comparable prices for you but its very hard to find anyone selling true mahog (John boddy do but they dont give prices on the website)

to give you some idea the ballpark for sappelle at 42x90 would be 10.32 per linear metre and the for the 220x590 19.54 per linear metre (based on SL hardwoods pricing)

true mahog is more expensive than sappelle so these are at least conservative estimates of what yours is worth