Mahogany and CITIES

[gstring]

Hello fellow AGFers.

I would like to have a custom electric all mahogany guitar made.
What mahogany is sustainable and legal ?
Where is a good place to buy Mahogany ?

Thanks

daniel

[Fathand]

Sapele and African Mahogany (Khaya) are sustainable, economical, legal, look and work similar and are related to Mahogany. Sapele is easy to find quarter sawn.

Honduran Mahogany, sometimes called Real Mahogany is less sustainable, 3 x the price, has postal restrictions, is mostly legal but is the traditional choice of instruments. Many think it looks and works better than the substitutes.

Any good specialty wood store should have the first 2 and probably the Honduran. Buying "guitar blanks" from luthier supply houses will cost a lot more than rough sawn at a wood store.

[peter.coombe]

Fiji mahogany is sustainable and legal, and is the same species as Honduran mahogany. It is grown in plantations in Fiji that were planted by the British more than 80 years ago. On average it tends to be a lighter colour than Honduran mahogany.

[tadol]

All mahoganies can be sustainable, and as long as they are properly obtained, they are legal. If you’re having it built, your luthier should be able to find a good source for a mahogany blank. As far as all the different varieties, are you choosing mahogany for the look, or for the weight, or for the tone? These mahoganies are going to be different, and have different characteristics , but I’d imagine pickup choice probably has much more effect than the wood does -

[stihlsawer]

Have you used Fijian mahogany much?

[Fathand]

I've built 2 guitars out of Fiji grown Mahogany, I didn't mention it before because it is considered Honduran Mahogany, same DNA. It is lighter coloured though and I found it to split easier than Khaya and harder to bend. I think I paid $14 per board foot compared to $7 for Khaya and $9.40 for quartered Sapele.

The guitar in the link is Fiji grown Honduran, has had some colour added in the sealer shellac coat and it sounds excellent.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/194462...etaken-public/

[stihlsawer]

Very nice! I like the color. I will do some research on US sellers of it. Thank you.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by stihlsawer

Very nice! I like the color. I will do some research on US sellers of it. Thank you.

The colour is about 6 drops of Fiebings Chocolate Brown in about a half cup of 1lb. cut shellac used as a sealer coat, then finished with Tru Oil.