Honduran Mahogany is generally considered to be a better quality tonewood. I built this elliptical shaped end table from Sapele wood…then put a French polish on it. Workability: Sapele can be troublesome to work in some machining  operations, (i.e., planing, routing, etc. Sapele finishes and glues very well but can become discolored and stained if it's in direct contact with iron. It is very dark in appearance and shows no grain as it becomes so dark after time. Used as a substitute for mahogany, and is sometimes referred to as “Sapele … Looks great. We ship our work all over the U.S. so moisture content is always an issue. Sapele also produces a large number of dramatic figure types such as pommele, quilted and mottled. but not sure how it may turn out for Sapele. The hardness of wood varies with the direction of the wood … Then I repeated this process with the polyurethane,… Read more », Hats off to your patience and love to the wood and table you are making. Your advice is much appreciated. I had to repair with epoxy and Sapele shavings. Just my thoughts. Fine uniform texture and good natural luster. Dear all This strips the tannins from the wood, opening up the surface to fully accept a stain. The piece has been outdoors on display not quite three months as of this writing. Sapele finishes and glues very well but can become discolored and stained if it's in direct contact with iron. Variations within Species and Grades: If the wood is quarter sawn, it has a ribbon stripped effect. someone knows if sapele can make a good bow? We recently built a large wood sculpture using 4″ thick by 6″, 8″, 10″, and 12″ wide Sapele timbers. Our African Sapele Hardwood is dark reddish-brown in colour, with an interlocked or wavy grain and medium to fine in texture. It’s much harder. Sapele is variable in grain and colour select to suit job in hand, I was purchasing QS boards and found one in the racks that was a different that all the others. This wood is finished with a Natural Satin Gloss infused with Aluminium Oxide to create a scratch resistant surface. They also today use totally certified wood and they make an effort to assure that the wood is indeed properly certified. It measures the force required to embed an 11.28 millimetres (0.444 in) diameter steel ball halfway into a sample of wood… Wouldn’t come out. Large door panel 40? Is a wood that with such a beautiful grain the right choice for window framing that will just be covered up? Treatments will also enhance the beauty of this wood. I did a job about a year ago with sapele, mostly 5/4 and 6/4 stock, and found that it liked to move... a … This wood is finished with a Natural Satin Gloss infused with Aluminium Oxide to create a scratch resistant surface. I’m just adding a couple of coats this winter and look to use if in the far future. Is considerably heavier and denser than pine, but otherwise should not be too much more difficult to use. It is similar to freijó, a medium density wood, whose resistance is exceptional, in addition to its beauty. The Janka scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular … Distribution: Tropical Africa. Origin of the name Sapele. I made a dining table with a sapele top and finished the tabletop with three coats of boiled linseed oil on the top, bottom, and sides, and 10 coats of polyurethane on the top with 2 coats on the bottom and sides. Demand for sapele increased as a mahogany substitute in recent years due to genuine mahoga… Sapele is an African hardwood which can be used in marine environments and for internal joinery. Sapele is an economically-important wood to the continent of Africa, and one that continues to grow in popularity in other industries beyond veneer mills, here in the US. Sapele is an economically-important wood to the continent of Africa, and one that continues … Please … After sanding down using 1000 grit I have applied a coat of Boiled linseed oil, once dry rub gently with 0000 wire wool. As mentioned on this site, Sapele stains when in contact with iron. Silver maple, red maple and boxelder are soft maples. Honduran Mahogany is a species of wood known scientifically as Swietenia macrophylla. That would depend on what you’re planning on using to topcoat/finish the wood with. All the soft maple varieties rank lower than birch. endstream endobj 19 0 obj <>stream https://www.dalyspaint.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=12, (This is a monthly update, and your email will be kept private.). Wenge is popular for back and sides of instruments. The medium hard wood is in the same class as oak and harder than mahogany. I'm a bit at a loss about what species of wood … P.S. Harder woods create good, solid long-lasting joinery in furniture. Would appreciate any advice on the suitable finish. It is available in 1/4″ and 3/4″ thickness. First wood I had problem gluing. They will be painted. Color: Sapele has a medium to dark reddish brown color which will darken with time and exposure to UV light. Consider the crimson–chestnut Sapele, with its crisscrossed and streaked or honeycomb grain; or rippling, banded, … The piece was then sculpted. Used as a substitute for mahogany, and is sometimes referred to as “Sapele Mahogany". Add another coat of oil and rub with wool again. The first couple of coats were done using pumice stone powder to help smooth and fill with olive oil as lubricant. I have recently heard that the euro mills that kiln dry most of our U.S. wood only dry to 12% Has anyone heard of this being true, or should I expect to see 9-10% wood from my supplier? For hardwood flooring, the test usually requires a 2" × 6" sample with a thickness of at least 6–8mm, and the most commonly used test is the ASTM D1037. You should look into hardwax-oil. The next and final coats were rubbed in using rotten stone powder and olive oil. Windows can be made in Oak, Idigbo, Iroko, Sapele, Accoya and European Redwood. https://thompsonmahogany.com/african-mahogany-vs-sapele-vs-utile/, What’s the best wasy to stain or dye sapele to a dark mahogany color. They charged the same as the QS because they had no other category. Sapele: Janka Hardness 1,410 lbf (6,280 N) The hardest of the three options. I just made a cutting board with some sapele offcut I got for free! Now you can buy it for your hardwood floor. Sapele wood is of medium hardness with a Janka rating of 1510 lbs making is harder than most domestic North American Species and almost twice as hard as Genuine Mahogany. Generally speaking, the harder the wood the easier it is to finish and polish. Sapele is a lovely Exotic wood that has been used to make guitars, jewelry, and furniture. Hardwood Flooring - African Sapele . Common Uses: Veneer, plywood, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, boatbuilding, musical instruments, turned objects, and other small wooden specialty items. Hardwearing and durable, Sapele is a great choice for your outdoor furniture. I had sapele countertops installed a few months ago. I absolutely love it to sawdust and use it for all my decorative pieces. We as a company use Sapele or similar hardwoods for our bespoke solid wood doors, generally speaking it is now most commonly used for all types of flooring but other uses were in the manufacture of musical instruments with the Sapele being used for both sides of acoustic guitars. Sapele Tonewood goes is a great all-purpose tonewood that works for many different applications. Sapele is a beautiful hardwood in its own right, but is generally lighter than true mahogany, (see “Mahogany’s Mimic,”) and has more color variation. Sapele is brown-red in color with rotary cut faces. Sapele is in the same family as mahogany. Order online here. Heart Pine 870 -910 Cypress, Australian Hard 1375 Hickory 1820 Walnut, Caribbean 1400 Imbuia 950 Walnut, Mayan/Aztec 1400 Iroko/Kambala 1260 Maple, Hard North American 1450 Ironwood, Green 3680 Mahogany, African, Sapele 1500 Jarrah, Australian 1915 Maple, Ivory 1500 Kenpass 1854 Afromosia 1560 Lacewood 840 Timborana 1570 Lapacho 3670 Zebrawood 1575 Sapele wood is a type of hardwood with amazing qualities, One of these is its interlocking grain patterns made from fiber cells that stretch from the lowest points in the … Bending strength, stiffness, … Usually pronounced (sah-PELL-ey) or (sah-PEEL-ey). No staining, but I’m sure you could use a mahogany wipe on type finish, or a mahogany stain followed by several coatings of Tung oil, or Danish oil, or whatever you prefer. Interesting Sapele Hardwood Facts Sapele Hardwood Lumber is twice as hard as Maple and has a strength similar to oak. It’s as hard as epoxy once cured but unlike epoxy or polyurethane finishes is incredibly easy to repair as surface do not require stripping back but just a light, localised surface sanding before reapplication. My contractor sanded it well before I started applying the wax, but it doesn’t seem smooth any more. Has been used for quite some time in this regard in Europe but is only just starting to catch on here in Australia.… Read more ». Sapele Hardwood Lumber. this is a BEAUTIFUL wood! He is searching for ideas to salvage his work. I applied the oil to the bottom first, then turned the tabletop over and coated the top. Hard for me to imagine a finish that is not food safe ONCE IT HAS CURED. The hardness of the Sapele wood makes it better than the Mahogany but as noted earlier, there is not much difference in the sound due to this. Wondering if sapelle is compatible with radiant heat flooring? African Timber and Plywood (AT&P), a division of the United Africa Company, had a factory at this location where the wood, along with Triplochiton scleroxylon, Obeche, mahogany, and Khaya was processed into timber which was then exported from the Port of Sapele worldwide. It will also react when put into direct contact with iron, becoming discolored and stained. Rot Resistance: Heartwood ranges from moderately durable to very durable in regard to decay resistance. It is one of the best measures of the ability of a wood … Sapele is easy to work with by hand and machine and is often used to make quality furniture and cabinet making as well as solid doors, sports goods, musical instruments and boat building. It also removes any residue from the milling process where wax or oils may be present from the machines used to shape/cut the material. Color/Appearance: Heartwood is a golden to dark reddish brown. Wenge is a darker wood with black and brown striping. You will not be disappointed. I compared boiled linseed oil to danish oil and pure tung oil on some smaller pieces of sapele before choosing boiled linseed oil. Sapele is available in ribbon and plain sawn lumber in 4/4 through 16/4 thicknesses. Sapele is brown-red in color with rotary cut faces. I would expect you have to resend it before you apply another finish they may not stick to the wax. However, any of these three oils would have looked great. Sapele is easy to work with by hand and machine and is often used to make quality furniture and cabinet making as well as solid doors, sports goods, musical instruments and boat building. Wenge is a darker wood with black and brown striping. I read an article saying that Sapele was a dead ringer for Mahogany. You’ll just need to keep your eye on it for a couple of hours and wipe off the dots of oil before they have a chance to dry. It is much harder than African or American mahogany. Before setting the piece in it’s permanent outdoor location, three coats of tung oil (Waterlox Marine Sealer) were applied. We’ve used Sapele for our custom doors since we can’t get the quality of mahogany from the good old days. Fabricated with Class 3 exterior gluing and complies to BS1088 and the Lloyd’s … Sapele – yes sometimes, just to be confusing, some manufacturers call Sapele “Sapele Mahogany” Honduran Mahogany. I've used SA mahogany on several jobs and find it to be a great wood to work with in just about every way. The average hardness of a piece of Honduran Mahogany would be around 900lb while a Sapele wood piece would be around 1,410lb. Sapele is derived in Central Africa and is a very common hardwood in … Scientific Name: Entandrophragma cylindricum. Sapele Hardwood Lumber is commonly used to manufacture guitars and ukeleles. It is most commonly sold in lumber and veneer but we do also have Sapele … Question from a friend; when steam bending Sapele for the sides of a 3/4 guitar it seemed to develope blackish purple mold spots. Solid hardwood joinery tends to be expensive compared to softwood. However, that's not the full story. When testing wood in lumber form the Janka test is always carried out on wood from the trunk of the tree (known as the heartwood) and the standard sample (according to ASTM D143) is at 12% moisture content and clear of knots. The medium hard wood is in the same class as oak and harder than mahogany. Pain in the butt to stain due to grain going in every direction and density variation in the same piece. Sapele is an excellent grade quality hardwood; while reminiscent of mahogany (indeed it’s part of the same family) it’s much harder than both its African or American counterparts and with respect to resistance to indentation, bending strength, stiffness, and resistance to shock loads, is practically equal with English oak. From my experience, both methods can finish Sapele with super smooth surface and stood up so far for the heavy use in the kitchen, but oil+polyurethane is easier to apply. I am having some wooden windows in our home replaced. It’s not. Additionally, the two woods tend to be heavier and darker than Honduran or African mahoganies, and both have a pleasing cedar-like scent when being worked. Bigleaf maple is moderately hard. The oil-stained table looks blotchy and cheap, different dark spots move depending on a viewing angle. Most joinery in Britain will be done around 14%. Should I be worried about cracking? 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