American mahogany

• Tropical hardwood.
• Grows to 50m high and 2m diameter.
• Bole (trunk) is often 20–40m long.

Original (true) mahogany was exported to Europe in the early 18^th century. Since then many timbers have been called mahogany due to similar aesthetics or to increase their market.

Natural distribution

• Central America
• West Indies
• Mexico
• Peru
• Venezuela
• Bolivia

Plantations

• within native range (above)
• Hawaii
• Fiji
• Philippines

Colour

• Sapwood is light pink-yellowish-brown and usually distinct from heartwood.
• Heartwood varies from medium to deep red-brown.
• Timber darkens on exposure.
• Logs may produce streaky timber.

Grain

• Texture is moderately fine.
• Grain is straight to wavy or interlocked, often with an attractive figure (pattern).

Decorative

• High-quality original and reproduction cabinets and chairs.
• Panelling, interior joinery.
• Vehicle window and door cappings.
• Boat building, deck housing and cabin fittings.

Others

• Boat building, planking, pattern making, models.

• Density: 530kg/m³ at 12% moisture content; about 1.9m³ of seasoned sawn timber per tonne.
• Strength groups: S5 unseasoned, SD6 seasoned.
• Stress grades: F5, F7, F8, F11 (unseasoned), F7, F8, F11, F14 (seasoned) when visually stress-graded in accordance with AS 2082—2000: Timber—Hardwood—Visually stress-graded for structural purposes.
• Joint groups: JD4 seasoned.
• Shrinkage to 12% MC: 2.5% (tangential), 1.6% (radial).
• Unit shrinkage: 0.21% (tangential), 0.18% (radial)—these values apply to timber reconditioned after seasoning.
• Durability above-ground: Class 3 (life expectancy 7–15 years).
• Durability in-ground: Class 3 (life expectancy 5–15 years).
• Lyctine susceptibility: untreated sapwood susceptible to lyctine borer attack.
• Termite resistance: not resistant.
• Preservation: difficult to impregnate with preservatives.
• Seasoning: dries fairly rapidly without much checking or distortion.
• Hardness: soft (rated 5 on a 6-class scale) to indent and work with hand tools.
• Machining: machines well, but can sometimes produce a woolly finish; maintain sharp cutting edges.
• Fixing: nails and screws well.
• Gluing: good characteristics.
• Finishing: excellent, readily accepts paint, stain and polish.

• Bootle, K 2005, Wood in Australia: Types, properties and uses, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, Sydney.
• Ilic, J 1991, CSIRO atlas of hardwoods, Crawford House Press, Bathurst, Australia.
• Queensland Government, DAF 2018, Construction timbers in Queensland: properties and specifications for satisfactory performance of construction timbers in Queensland. Class 1 and Class 10 buildings, Books 1 & 2, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane.