Shopsmith Forums

Finally got all the wood in the shop to start the first big project for the house. It is a TV cabinet, mantle piece and display cabinet. It is primarily mahogany with alder, ebony and zebra wood inlay/accent. The biggest challenge is that they no longer supply Honduran mahogany 1/4" ply for the backs of the display area. I decided to make the backing first and started milling everything today. They will be 91" X 12". First I sliced up poplar into 2 1/2" strips for the backing which involved a lot of wafering. I sliced it into strips and then mixed them up before wafering and gluing to increase the stability of the backing. Now I am laminating the mahogany between two pieces of poplar at 4 1/4" wide and will slice it down the middle with the band saw which will allow me to bookmatch the mahogany, wafer three of them together and then use the planer to remove most of the poplar backing and smooth the mahogany surface ending up with a 12" wide by 91" piece of mahogany with backing that will be about 3/8" thick. I have done this in the past to make backing out of exotic woods but never for mahogany. Up until now 1/4" ply was available.
Paul

I will be following this! Always learn something from your projects!

Do you use a lot of mahogany?

Years ago we used a lot of Brazilian mahogany , it was fuzzy wood,,, had a lot of what we called shake in it,, ,,,,,, where the tree had bent one way and then the other in the wind and the grain would snap and heal ,it was very strong ,,,held up in foundry patterns when other wood would fail, it was sort of labor intensive to sand smooth.

It was also some of the nicest looking wood when finished .

Honduran mahogany may be different.

Hobbymnan2

Paul,
Before you give up on the 1/4" ply, call Peterman's (if you haven't already). What they have in stock or can order might surprise you. I'm certain they still have a shop in Las Vegas, because I just checked.

Anyway, just a thought.

Be well,
Ben

Thanks Ben. I already have. They have nothing. Can't even order it. I have a plywood distributor in LA who said it is unavailable but he could have it specially laid up at twice the cost of the actual wood. This is not unusual for exotic woods. Since they are no longer able to import Honduran mahogany it has now become a "rare wood". The actual wood I am using on this house is called "genuine mahogany " which is the same species but grown on different islands etc. The mahogany I am buying is from Pederman. This mahogany is not nearly as stable as the actual Honduran but we can make it work. The extreme widths ( 16" wide or better ) is not available at least through them. It means a lot more laminating and planing/surface sanding to make it work.
Paul

You need more clamps!

Not a long day in the shop. I managed to get the backing blanks cut to size and resawn. I finally got to use the PowerPro and a Woodslicer blade both for the first time. Together they cut through 4 1/2" mahogany like butter. Those blades are really amazing. Also I took Beav's advice and used a second SS for support while resawing. Great idea !
Paul

Any one who can use that many band saws at the same time has my full attention!!


Hobbyman2

Hobbyman2 wrote:

Any one who can use that many band saws at the same time has my full attention!!


Hobbyman2

Only one was 'running'.

The last two days in the shop have been slow due to supervising a crew that is rebuilding a deck on the back of the house. I did get the mantle laminated and started on the Zebra wood inlay. I am cutting at a 30 degree bias and then there will be a small triangle of ebony at the center where the two sides of zebra wood will meet.
Paul