Bought some "Mahogany" from the Yard

[Strokes77]

Went to the local lumber yard the other day.  Was my first trip to a place like that.  Very overwhelming.

However, I found a big stack of "african mahogany".  So I purchased about 20bf of it, 5 boards. 

Here's my problem.  The 2 wider boards (10" wide) seem to be totally different from the narrower, 4" or 5" boards.  It's very different in color, much lighter, and very soft, and light weight.  The narrower boards are very dark, very dense and hard.

Does anyone know what is going on?  If I hadn't have bought them all at the same spot, from the same bundle, I would declare these to be different species.

I'm confused.

[Steve N]

Tree to tree sometimes the same species hardly looks alike. The trick is, especially if only getting 5 boards is to look at grain, color, knots, and any other feature, and just buy 5 boards that match. That said, some "lumber yards" don't keep a close eye on their wood piles, and sometimes wood migrates from stack to stack, so it could be different species, and some sellers throw a lot of wood they sourced together, and call it the same because they are too lazy, or uneducated to differentiate. This last is sad but true, and often why you get such a "deal" on wood from them. Generally Woodworkers are a fairly honest bunch, wood sellers maybe not so much


You have a great opportunity to find out if your seller is a good place for return business. Call them and explain your finding, if you get a sorry, all sales are final, you know where you stand, but you just might get a bring it back in, and we'll see if we can't help you get a good match. In that case you have found a place to source your wood from.

[iguana]

I suspect the narrower boards are Sapele instead of African Mahogany. Sapele is related to the Mahogany family, and it is from Africa. But it is a different species than African Mahogany.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Now if you were able to pick your own lumber why did you not see it. I can do this at my lumber yard and I stand the pieces next to each other to see grain patterns and color. 

Has anyone seen the prices on Hondourous Mahagony these days??  Wow.

[fredhargis]

Now if you were able to pick your own lumber why did you not see it. I can do this at my lumber yard and I stand the pieces next to each other to see grain patterns and color. 

That thought crossed my mind. But like Steve N said, check into returning whichever (or all) you don't want.

[MichaelMouse]

Does anyone know what is going on?  If I hadn't have bought them all at the same spot, from the same bundle, I would declare these to be different species.

I'm confused.

Welcome to the world of common names.  Back when lauan was "Philippine mahogany,"  the members of the Khaya genus of African trees were referred to as "African Mahogany."  Reddish, rather than blood-red woods which are usually called "rosewood" of some sort, can find themselves in mixed mahogany company.  If you are able to pull personally, as stated, you should do your comparisons at the dealer.  A nice sharp gouge or block plane is a help with  rough surfaced wood matching. 

It's a fun world with all the "red" and "white" oaks and my favorites, "poplar" which isn't, rather a type of magnolia, and several domestic "cedars," none of which are of the genus Cedrus.  Don't blame the dealer, he bought a bundle, sight unseen.  Should help you on the exchange, though.

I had the pleasure of reworking some 90-year old Honduran mahogany tables with 20 inch wide single board tops a number of years back.  GORGEOUS wood.

[Strokes77]

Gotcha.  Thanks all for the answers.

I've already gotten in to the boards.  Cross cutting with my handsaw was the first procedure before starting hand planing.  I'm not experienced with different woods to know much of a difference.  But as I started working with it more throughout the project, I would definitely agree that some of the boards are most likely Sepele, and some are AM.  

I don't know that I would have noticed the difference in the rough state at the lumber yard.

Thanks for explaining this to me.

[DonJuvet]

Typical for mahogany. Doubt they mixed sappele in as there is a big difference in price.
Experience is a nasty teacher.... gives the test, then the lesson

[MichaelMouse]

I don't know that I would have noticed the difference in the rough state at the lumber yard.

Thanks for explaining this to me.

Thus the suggestion of a gouge or a block plane to reveal the wood as it will appear after processing.  It'll also let you know about relative hardness. Pass the plane over the surface near the end, or take a small scoop with the gouge.  What's underneath will tell you a lot.

[wood2woodknot]

What's with #10 post about rsgold??????????????? Is this appropriate? Permitted? Didn't think commercials like this were acceptable on the forum.